辿(たど)る

たどる
verb (godan)
to trace; to follow (a path or course)
1. to trace, to follow a path
To follow along a route, trail, or course, often with difficulty or while searching. Used both literally (following a road) and figuratively (tracing a history or process).
山道(やまみち)を辿(たど)った。
I followed the mountain path.
記憶(きおく)を辿(たど)って思(おも)い出(だ)そうとした。
I tried to remember by tracing my memories.
家族(かぞく)の歴史(れきし)を辿(たど)ると、この土地(とち)に百年以上(ひゃくねんいじょう)住(す)んでいたことがわかった。
Tracing my family's history, I found that they had lived in this area for over a hundred years.

CONJUGATION:

  • 辿(たど)らない（否定(ひてい)）
  • 辿(たど)ります（丁寧(ていねい)）
  • 辿(たど)って（て形(けい)）
  • 辿(たど)った（過去(かこ)）

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 道(みち)を辿(たど)る: to follow a road/path
  • 記憶(きおく)を辿(たど)る: to trace one's memories
  • 歴史(れきし)を辿(たど)る: to trace history
  • 同(おな)じ道(みち)を辿(たど)る: to follow the same path (figurative: to have the same fate)
  • 運命(うんめい)を辿(たど)る: to follow a fate/course

USAGE: Implies a sense of deliberateness or difficulty in the journey. Often used figuratively for intellectual or emotional processes of tracing back through something.

general
Added 2026.2.7 17:30
10000/10366_tadoru