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はかばかしい Japanese meaning | Kotomora

はかばかしい

は

か

ば

か

し

い

JLPTN1

Meanings

1

i-adjective

making good progress; going smoothly; satisfactory

usually written using kana alone

Almost always used in negative sentences to express that something is not progressing well or is unsatisfactory. The positive form is rare.

仕し事ごとがはかばかしく進すすまない。
Work isn't progressing smoothly.
交こう渉しょうははかばかしい

結けっ

果か

が

出で

なかっ

た

。

The negotiations didn't yield satisfactory results.

Written forms

はかばかしいUsage91%
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms are rare or search-only.
捗々はかばかしいUsage9%
Rare kanji form; not commonly used.
果々はかばかしい
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.

Kanji

捗make progress
果fruit, reward, carry out

Similar words

捗はかどる
はかどる is a verb meaning 'to make progress' and is used in both positive and negative contexts, while はかばかしい is an adjective used almost exclusively in negative sentences.

Etymology

Derived from the root はか (progress) with reduplication and the adjectival suffix しい. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.