細々
Meanings
adverb, adverb taking the 'to' particle
poor (living); bare subsistence
Describes a life or livelihood that is meager, hand-to-mouth, or barely getting by. Often used with verbs like 暮らす or 生きる.
He lives a meager life on his pension.
adverb, adverb taking the 'to' particle
barely continuing; just scraping along
Used for something that continues in a weak, tenuous state, such as a business, tradition, or relationship. Implies it could end at any moment.
The shop is barely staying in business.
Their relationship is just barely continuing.
noun-modifying (irregular)
very narrow; extremely thin
Prenominal use, typically in the pattern 細々とした, describing something physically or metaphorically narrow and slight, such as a path, stream, or connection.
We climbed up a very narrow mountain path.
Usage patterns
- 細々と暮らすto live a meager, hand-to-mouth life
She lives a bare subsistence life on her pension alone.
- 細々と続けるto keep something going in a weak, tenuous way
That shop is still barely hanging on in business.
- 細々とした〈物〉a thin, slight, or narrow thing (path, stream, connection)
A thin, narrow path continued deep into the mountains.
- 細々と生きるto barely get by; to scrape out a living
After the war, they barely got by working the fields.