一いっ刻こく

い

っ

こ

く

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun

a moment; an instant; a short time

Refers to a very brief period of time, often used in set phrases like 一刻も早く (as soon as possible).

一いっ刻こくも早はやくこの問もん題だいを解かい決けつしなければならない。
We must solve this problem as soon as possible.
一いっ刻こくを争あらそう事じ態たいだ。
It's a situation where every moment counts.

na-adjective

stubborn; obstinate

dated term

Dated term for a stubborn or inflexible person. It was also written as 一国, 一克, or 一剋, but 一刻 is the standard kanji form.

彼かれは一いっ刻こくな性せい格かくで、人ひとの意い見けんを聞きかない。
He has a stubborn personality and doesn't listen to others' opinions.

See all 32 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

一いっ刻こくを惜おしむto value every moment; to not waste a single instant
彼かれは一いっ刻こくを惜おしんで勉べん強きょうした。
He studied hard, not wanting to waste a single moment.
一いっ刻こくな〈人ひと〉a stubborn, inflexible person
祖そ父ふは一いっ刻こくな人ひとで、自じ分ぶんの意い見けんを絶ぜっ対たいに変かえない。
My grandfather is a stubborn person who never changes his opinion.

Expressions· 7

刻こく一いっ刻こくとmoment by moment; hour by hour; with every passing moment
一いっ刻こく千せん金きんevery moment is precious; time is money
春しゅん宵しょう一いっ刻こくa moment of a spring evening is worth a thousand gold pieces
一いっ刻こくも早はやくimmediately; as soon as possible; as quickly as possible
一いっ刻こくを争あらそうrace against time; every moment counts

Show 2 more

春しゅん宵しょう一いっ刻こく値あたい千せん金きんa moment of a spring evening is worth a thousand pieces of gold
一いっ刻こくの猶ゆう予よもないnot a moment to waste; there is no time to lose; cannot wait any longer

Kanji

一one, one radical (no.1)
刻engrave, cut fine, chop

Related words

瞬しゅん間かんN3sense 1
瞬間 is the common, neutral word for 'moment' or 'instant', while 一刻 is more literary and often appears in set phrases stressing urgency.
頑がん固こN2sense 2
頑固 is the standard modern word for being stubborn, while 一刻 (in this sense) is a dated term rarely used in contemporary speech.

Don't confuse with

一いっ国こく
一国 and 一刻 are pronounced identically, but 一刻 usually means 'a moment' (or the modern spelling for 'stubborn'), while 一国 primarily means 'one country/the whole nation'.

Word family

一いっ刻こく者もの
stubborn person; obstinate person
刻こく一いっ刻こく
moment by moment; hour by hour; with each passing moment
一いっ刻こく一いっ刻こく
moment by moment; with each passing moment; hourly

Written forms

一いっ刻こくUsage99%
Standard kanji spelling for both senses.
いっこくUsage1%

Etymology

Compound of 一 (one) and 刻 (time, period). Originally referred to a specific unit of time in the traditional Japanese temporal system, later extended to mean a very short time. The 'stubborn' sense is a separate development, possibly from the idea of being fixed on one thing.