1.
to trip, to stumble over
To lose one's balance by catching one's foot on something, nearly falling.
石に蹴躓いた。
I tripped on a stone.
段差に蹴躓いて転んだ。
I tripped on a step and fell.
暗い廊下で何かに蹴躓いてしまった。
I tripped over something in the dark hallway.
2.
to stumble (figuratively), to fail
To encounter an unexpected setback or obstacle in one's plans or progress.
計画が蹴躓いた。
The plan hit a snag.
最初の一歩で蹴躓く。
To stumble at the very first step.
順調だった事業が資金難で蹴躓いてしまった。
The business that had been going well stumbled due to financial difficulties.
蹴躓く describes physically tripping or figuratively encountering setbacks.
TRANSITIVITY:
- Type: 自動詞 (intransitive)
ORTHOGRAPHY:
Often written in hiragana as けつまずく or with partial kanji as 躓く. The kanji 蹴 (kick) and 躓く (stumble) combine to form the full word.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 石に蹴躓く: to trip on a stone
- 段差に蹴躓く: to trip on a step
- 計画が蹴躓く: the plan stumbles
RELATED:
- 躓く: variant form (same meaning)