踏ふみとどまる

ふ

み

と

ど

ま

る

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

stay on; remain; hold one's ground

Used when someone resists the urge to leave, give up, or retreat; implies determination to stay in place or in a situation.

彼かれは最さい後ごまで踏ふみとどまって戦たたかった。
He held his ground and fought to the end.
辞やめたい気き持もち

を

抑おさ

え

て

、

会かい

社しゃ

に

踏ふ

みとどまっ

た

。

I suppressed the urge to quit and stayed on at the company.

2

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

stop oneself from doing; give up on doing

Used when one stops or refrains from doing something, often at the last moment; implies a conscious decision to not proceed.

言いいかけて、彼かれは踏ふみとどまった。
He was about to say something but stopped himself.
危き険けんだと気きづいて、彼かれはその計けい画かくを実じっ行こうするのを踏ふみとどまった。
Realizing the danger, he gave up on carrying out the plan.

Written forms

踏ふみとどまるUsage78%
Most common spelling; uses kana for とどまる to avoid rare kanji.
踏ふみ止とどまるUsage12%
Kanji spelling for とどまる; less common but still seen.
踏ふみ留とどまるUsage8%
Rare kanji variant; 留 is not standard for this word.
ふみとどまるUsage3%

Kanji

踏step, trample, carry through
止stop, halt
留detain, fasten, halt

Similar words

とどまる
Means simply 'to stay' or 'to remain' without the nuance of resisting an urge to leave or stop. 踏みとどまる adds the sense of 'holding one's ground' or 'stopping oneself'.
思おもいとどまる
Means 'to change one's mind and not do something' or 'to think better of it'. 踏みとどまる focuses more on physically or mentally staying put or stopping an action, while 思いとどまる is about reconsidering a decision.

Etymology

Compound of 踏み (stem of 踏む 'to step') + とどまる ('to stay, remain'). The image is of planting one's feet and not moving, hence 'to hold one's ground' or 'to stop oneself'.