てんてこ舞(ま)い

てんてこまい
noun
being frantically busy; having one's hands full
informalcolloquialdaily-life
1. being frantically busy; having one's hands full; rushing around
A state of being so busy that one is scrambling to keep up. The 舞(ま)い part comes from the frantic dancing to fast てんてこ festival-drum rhythms. Often used with だ, で, or する.
毎日(まいにち)てんてこ舞(ま)いだ。
I'm frantically busy every day.
年末(ねんまつ)は店(みせ)がてんてこ舞(ま)いになる。
The shop gets swamped at the end of the year.
急(きゅう)な注文(ちゅうもん)が重(かさ)なり、スタッフはてんてこ舞(ま)いだった。
With rush orders piling up, the staff had their hands full.

An informal, vivid word for frantic busyness. Frequently appears as てんてこ舞(ま)いだ or てんてこ舞(ま)いになる.

Common collocations

  • てんてこ舞(ま)いになる: to become swamped
  • てんてこ舞(ま)いの忙(いそ)しさ: frantic busyness

Similar words

  • 大忙(おおいそが)し: extremely busy — plainer; てんてこ舞(ま)い adds a sense of flustered rushing around

Related Words

Compare: 猫(ねこ)の手(て)も借(か)りたい (desperately short-handed)
Compare: 多忙(たぼう)を極(きわ)める (to be extremely busy)
general
Added 2026.6.21 15:18 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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