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たどたどしい (tadotadoshii) Japanese meaning: faltering | Kotomora
Freq. Frequency Top 100,000 Conjugation たどたどしい · i-adjective
Form Positive Negative Dictionary たどたどしい たどたどしくない Polite たどたどしいです たどたどしくないです also たどたどしくありません Past polite たどたどしかったです たどたどしくなかったです also たどたどしくありませんでした Past たどたどしかった たどたどしくなかった Te-form たどたどしくて たどたどしくなくて Adverbial たどたどしく Conditional たどたどしければ たどたどしくなければ Tara conditional たどたどしかったら たどたどしくなかったら
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His Japanese is still halting.
The fawn is walking with unsteady steps.
Related words 片言 is a noun for the broken language itself, while たどたどしい is an adjective describing hesitant, faltering speech or movement.
たどたどしい is used for speech or movement that is halting and unsteady from inexperience or nervousness, while ぎこちない more broadly describes any stiff, unnatural manner.
Opposites たどたどしい describes halting, faltering speech, the opposite of speaking ぺらぺら (fluently).
たどたどしい describes halting, faltering speech, the opposite of the smooth, effortless flow implied by 流暢.
Written forms たどたどしい Usage 98%
Usually written in kana. The kanji forms 辿々しい and 辿辿しい are rare.
辿たど 々たど しい Usage 2%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form using the iteration mark 々.
辿たど 辿たど しい
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form with repeated kanji.
Etymology Derived from the verb 辿る (たどる, 'to follow a narrow path, to trace') with reduplication and the adjectival suffix しい, suggesting a sense of groping or proceeding unsteadily. The exact historical development is uncertain.
