綱渡(つなわた)り

つなわたり
noun
tightrope walking; risky balancing act
activityfigurative
1. tightrope walking
The acrobatic performance of walking across a stretched rope or wire.
サーカスの綱渡(つなわた)りを見(み)た。
I watched the tightrope walking at the circus.
綱渡(つなわた)りの芸人(げいにん)がバランスを取(と)りながら進(すす)んだ。
The tightrope performer advanced while maintaining balance.
高(たか)さ十(じゅう)メートルの綱渡(つなわた)りに観客(かんきゃく)は息(いき)をのんだ。
The audience held their breath at the tightrope walk ten meters up.
2. risky undertaking; precarious balancing act
A figurative use describing a situation where one manages a dangerous or delicate balance, often with little margin for error.
毎月(まいつき)の家計(かけい)は綱渡(つなわた)りだ。
Our monthly household budget is a tightrope act.
締(し)め切(き)りぎりぎりの綱渡(つなわた)りが続(つづ)いている。
The precarious juggling of barely meeting deadlines continues.
二(ふた)つの仕事(しごと)を掛(か)け持(も)ちしながら育児(いくじ)もするのは、まさに綱渡(つなわた)りの毎日(まいにち)だ。
Juggling two jobs while raising children is truly a daily tightrope act.

Literally "rope crossing" — composed of 綱(つな) (rope) + 渡(わた)り (crossing). The figurative sense is extremely common in everyday Japanese, used whenever describing a precarious situation with little room for error.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 薄氷(はくひょう)を踏(ふ)む — to tread on thin ice (similar figurative sense of danger)
  • 危(あや)うい — dangerous, precarious (adjective describing the state itself)

Related Words

Compare: 危(あや)うい (dangerous, precarious)
general
Added 2026.3.30 4:17 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
20500/20585_tsunawatari