突っつく
つっつく
verb
to poke; to peck at; to pick at (food); to nitpick
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 突っつく | 突っつかない |
| Present polite | 突っつきます | 突っつきません |
| Past | 突っついた | 突っつかなかった |
| Past polite | 突っつきました | 突っつきませんでした |
| て form | 突っついて | 突っつかなくて |
| ている present | 突っついている | 突っついていない |
| ている polite | 突っついています | 突っついていません |
| ている past | 突っついていた | 突っついていなかった |
| ている past polite | 突っついていました | 突っついていませんでした |
| Conditional ば | 突っつけば | 突っつかなければ |
| Conditional たら | 突っついたら | 突っつかなかったら |
| Volitional | 突っつこう | — |
| Volitional polite | 突っつきましょう | — |
| Potential | 突っつける | 突っつけない |
| Passive | 突っつかれる | 突っつかれない |
| Causative | 突っつかせる | 突っつかせない |
| Imperative | 突っつけ | 突っつくな |
1.
to poke; to prod; to jab
To repeatedly push at something with a finger, stick, or pointed object.
指で突っつく。
To poke with one's finger.
棒で虫を突っついた。
I poked the bug with a stick.
隣の人を肘で突っついて合図した。
I nudged the person next to me with my elbow to signal them.
2.
to peck at; to pick at (food)
To eat in small amounts, poking at food without much appetite. Also used for birds pecking.
鳥が餌を突っつく。
A bird pecks at food.
食欲がなくて、料理を突っつくだけだった。
I had no appetite and just picked at my food.
鍋を突っつきながら話をした。
We chatted while picking at a hot pot.
3.
to nitpick; to find fault with
To criticize minor flaws or point out small problems.
細かいことを突っつく。
To nitpick about small things.
上司にミスを突っつかれた。
My boss picked on my mistakes.
弱点を突っつかれると困る。
It's troublesome when someone pokes at your weak points.
A colloquial godan verb that is an emphatic or repeated-action form of 突く (to poke). The っ gemination adds a sense of repeated, light action.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 指で突っつく: to poke with a finger
- 鍋を突っつく: to share a hot pot (picking at it together)
- 細かいことを突っつく: to nitpick
- 痛いところを突っつく: to touch on a sore spot
USAGE:
The hot-pot usage (鍋を突っつく) is a common casual expression for sharing a communal dish, conveying a friendly, informal atmosphere.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 突く: to poke, to thrust — the base verb; more general and can indicate a single, stronger action
- つつく: to peck, to poke — a softer variant without the geminate っ; essentially the same word
- 指摘する: to point out — formal equivalent of the nitpicking sense