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こけつまろびつ Japanese meaning | Kotomora

こけつまろびつ

こ

け

つ

ま

ろ

び

つ

Meanings

1

expression, adverb

falling and stumbling; falling all over oneself

usually written using kana alone

Describes hurrying along while repeatedly falling and getting up; often used in the set phrase こけつまろびつしながら (while stumbling and tumbling).

彼かれはこけつまろびつしながらゴールを目め指ざした。
He headed for the goal, stumbling and falling over himself.
こけつまろびつの人じん生せい

だっ

た

が

、

それ

で

も

前まえ

に

進すす

ん

だ

。

It was a life of constant stumbling, but I kept moving forward anyway.

Written forms

こけつ転まろびつ
Mixed kanji-kana spelling; rarely used.
倒こけつ転まろびつ
Kanji spelling with 倒けつ; very rare.

Kanji

転revolve, turn around, change
倒overthrow, fall, collapse

Similar words

転ころぶ
A common verb meaning 'to fall down' or 'to tumble'; こけつまろびつ is a fixed adverbial expression emphasizing repeated falling and getting up.
つまずく
Means 'to stumble' or 'to trip'; こけつまろびつ implies a more dramatic, repeated cycle of falling and rising.

Etymology

A compound of こけつ (from こける, 'to fall') and まろびつ (from まろぶ, 'to tumble'), with the classical conjunctive particle つ repeated. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it is a fixed idiomatic expression.