きょろきょろ

also: きょときょと

きょ

ろ

きょ

ろ

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

きょろきょろする · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	きょろきょろする	きょろきょろしない
Polite	きょろきょろします	きょろきょろしません
Past polite	きょろきょろしました	きょろきょろしませんでした
Past	きょろきょろした	きょろきょろしなかった
Te-form	きょろきょろして	きょろきょろしないで
Desire	きょろきょろしたい	きょろきょろしたくない
Potential	きょろきょろできる	きょろきょろできない
Passive	きょろきょろされる	きょろきょろされない
Causative	きょろきょろさせる	きょろきょろさせない
Causative passive	きょろきょろさせられる	きょろきょろさせられない
Volitional	きょろきょろしよう
Polite volitional	きょろきょろしましょう
Imperative	きょろきょろしろ	きょろきょろするな
Conditional	きょろきょろすれば	きょろきょろしなければ
Tara conditional	きょろきょろしたら	きょろきょろしなかったら

Meanings

adverb, adverb taking the 'to' particle, noun or participle which takes 'suru'

looking around restlessly; gazing about; glancing around nervously

onomatopoeic or mimetic word

Describes someone moving their eyes or head around repeatedly, often with a sense of restlessness, curiosity, or nervousness. Commonly used with する or と.

彼かれは教きょう室しつに入はいると、きょろきょろと周まわりを見み回まわした。
When he entered the classroom, he looked around restlessly.
迷子まいごの子こがきょろきょろしながら母はは親おやを探さがしていた。
The lost child was looking around nervously for his mother.

See all 10 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

きょろきょろ（と）見み回まわすto look around restlessly, scanning one's surroundings
彼かれは初はじめての教きょう室しつできょろきょろと周まわりを見み回まわした。
He glanced around restlessly in the classroom he was visiting for the first time.
目めをきょろきょろさせるto move one's eyes restlessly, looking around nervously
子こ供どもは迷子まいごになって目めをきょろきょろさせていた。
The lost child kept looking around nervously with darting eyes.
きょろきょろするto look around restlessly or nervously
面めん接せつ中ちゅうにきょろきょろするのは印いん象しょうが悪わるい。
Looking around restlessly during an interview gives a bad impression.

Related words

うろうろN3
うろうろ describes aimless wandering or pacing about, while きょろきょろ focuses on the eyes or head moving restlessly, often without changing position.
じろじろN3
じろじろ means staring rudely and intently at one thing or person, whereas きょろきょろ implies quick, repeated glances in many different directions.
そわそわN3
そわそわ describes general restless fidgeting or nervous behavior, while きょろきょろ specifically refers to the eyes darting around.

Written forms

きょろきょろUsage48%
Standard hiragana spelling; the most common written form.
キョロキョロUsage47%
Katakana spelling common in manga and casual writing for mimetic effect.
きょときょとUsage4%
Rare variant reading and spelling; not commonly used.
キョトキョトUsage2%
Rare katakana variant of the rare reading きょときょと.

Etymology

Onomatopoeic word mimicking the sound or motion of eyes darting around. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a typical reduplicative mimetic adverb.