こつこつ
こつこつ
adverb, onomatopoeia
steadily; diligently; persistently
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | こつこつ | こつこたない |
| Present polite | こつこちます | こつこちません |
| Past | こつこった | こつこたなかった |
| Past polite | こつこちました | こつこちませんでした |
| て form | こつこって | こつこたなくて |
| ている present | こつこっている | こつこっていない |
| ている polite | こつこっています | こつこっていません |
| ている past | こつこっていた | こつこっていなかった |
| ている past polite | こつこっていました | こつこっていませんでした |
| Conditional ば | こつこてば | こつこたなければ |
| Conditional たら | こつこったら | こつこたなかったら |
| Volitional | こつことう | — |
| Volitional polite | こつこちましょう | — |
| Potential | こつこてる | こつこてない |
| Passive | こつこたれる | こつこたれない |
| Causative | こつこたせる | こつこたせない |
| Imperative | こつこて | こつこつな |
1.
steadily; diligently; persistently
Describes doing something with patient, sustained effort over time, often involving repetitive small actions that accumulate into significant results.
こつこつ勉強する。
To study steadily.
毎日こつこつ貯金している。
I save money little by little every day.
こつこつ努力を続けた結果、やっと合格できた。
As a result of persistently continuing my efforts, I finally passed.
2.
with a tapping or knocking sound
Mimics the sound of hard objects striking a surface repeatedly, such as knocking on a door, footsteps on a hard floor, or tapping with a tool.
ドアをこつこつ叩く。
To knock on the door with a tap-tap sound.
廊下にこつこつと足音が響いた。
Footsteps echoed tap-tap-tap down the hallway.
杖でこつこつと地面を突きながら歩いていた。
He was walking along, tapping the ground with his cane.
Describes patient, sustained effort through small repeated actions. The diligence sense is far more common in everyday conversation than the sound sense. Strongly positive — implies admirable perseverance rather than drudgery.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- こつこつ勉強する: to study steadily
- こつこつ働く: to work diligently
- こつこつ貯める: to save up bit by bit
- こつこつ努力する: to make persistent effort
- こつこつ積み重ねる: to accumulate steadily
USAGE:
Often paired with 毎日 (every day) to emphasize daily consistency. Can function as an adverb modifying a verb directly, or with the particle と (こつこつと) for a slightly more formal or literary feel. The sound sense typically uses と.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- こつこつ vs. 地道に: Both mean "steadily," but こつこつ emphasizes the repetitive, incremental nature of the effort, while 地道に emphasizes the unpretentious, unglamorous quality of the approach.
- こつこつ vs. ちょこちょこ: ちょこちょこ means doing something in small amounts but implies irregularity, while こつこつ implies disciplined consistency.