ぽたぽた

also: ぼたぼた · ぼとぼと · ぽとぽと

ぽ

た

ぽ

た

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

ぽたぽたする · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

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

Meanings

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

dripping; trickling; drop by drop

onomatopoeic or mimetic word

Onomatopoeia for liquid falling in small, repeated drops. Often used with と or as a する-verb.

蛇じゃ口ぐちから水みずがぽたぽたと落おちている。
Water is dripping from the faucet.
汗あせがぽたぽたと額ひたいから流ながれた。
Sweat trickled down from my forehead.

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

wet and heavy; soggy

onomatopoeic or mimetic word

Only with reading ぼたぼた / ボタボタ

Describes snow, clay, or similar substances that are heavy with moisture. Restricted to voiced readings ぼたぼた/ボタボタ.

ぼたぼたの雪ゆきが積つもって、屋や根ねが重おもそうだ。
Wet, heavy snow has piled up, and the roof looks burdened.

adverb, adverb taking the 'to' particle

slowly; ploddingly

onomatopoeic or mimetic wordarchaic

Only with reading ぼたぼた / ボタボタ

Archaic use for moving slowly or heavily. Restricted to voiced readings ぼたぼた/ボタボタ. Rare in modern Japanese.

昔むかしの文ぶんでは、人ひとがぼたぼたと歩あるく様よう子すを表あらわすことがある。
In old texts, ぼたぼた can describe someone walking slowly and heavily.

See all 17 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が〈場ば所しょ〉にポタポタ(と)垂たれるfor something to drip down onto a place
汗あせが額ひたいから床ゆかにポタポタと垂たれた。
Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the floor.
雪ゆきがぼたぼた(と)積つもるfor heavy, wet snow to pile up
重おもい雪ゆきがぼたぼたと積つもっていく。
The heavy, wet snow kept piling up.

Expressions

ポタポタ落おちるdrip down; fall in drops; trickle down

Related words

ポツポツN1sense 1
ぽつぽつ suggests lighter, more intermittent or sparse drops, while ぽたぽた suggests slightly larger, more continuous drops.
だらだらN2sense 1
だらだら describes a continuous, sluggish flow of liquid, while ぽたぽた focuses on distinct, separate drops.
たらたらN1
たらたら describes a thin, continuous dribble, while ぽたぽた describes larger, distinct drops falling one at a time.

Don't confuse with

パタパタ sense 1
ぱたぱた sounds similar but describes flapping or rapid light tapping, not liquid dripping like ぽたぽた.

Written forms

ぽたぽたUsage31%
Most common kana spelling for the dripping sense; marked as high priority.
ポタポタUsage28%
Katakana variant, often used for onomatopoeic emphasis.
ぼたぼたUsage9%
Voiced variant used for heavier, wetter, or slower impressions; restricted to senses 2 and 3.
ぽとぽとUsage8%
Rare variant with a slightly lighter or softer dripping nuance.
ボトボトUsage7%
Rare katakana voiced variant for dripping.
ポトポトUsage7%
Rare katakana variant for light dripping.
ぼとぼとUsage6%
Rare voiced variant for dripping; may be encountered but less common.
ボタボタUsage4%
Katakana voiced variant for senses 2 and 3.

Etymology

Onomatopoeic word mimicking the sound of liquid dripping. The voiced variants ぼたぼた/ぼとぼと convey a heavier, wetter, or slower impression. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.