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手当たり次第 (てあたりしだい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
adverb, expression
using anything at hand ; haphazardly ; indiscriminately
Describes doing something with whatever is available, without careful selection or planning. Often implies a rushed or desperate situation. The phrase is adverbial and typically modifies a verb.
ひと
々びと
は
手て
当あ
たり
次し
第だい
に
物もの
を
持も
ち
出だ
し
た
。
In the fire, people grabbed whatever they could and fled.
Written forms 手て 当あ たり 次し 第だい
Standard kanji spelling; high priority in news and common usage.
手て 当あ たりしだい
Mixed kanji-kana variant; less common but still encountered.
手て 当あた り 次し 第だい
Variant with simplified 当り; acceptable but less frequent.
手て あたりしだい
Kana-mixed form; used when avoiding complex kanji or for readability.
手て あたり 次し 第だい
Another mixed form; seen in informal writing.
手て 当あた りしだい
Rare variant; not commonly used.
Similar words 手て 当あ たり 手当たり alone means 'feel' or 'touch', while 手当たり次第 is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning 'using whatever is at hand'.
次し 第だい 次第 as a suffix means 'as soon as' or 'depending on', but in this compound it contributes the sense of 'in order' or 'as one goes along'.
やたらに やたらに also means 'indiscriminately' or 'randomly', but 手当たり次第 emphasizes using whatever is physically available, often in a hurried manner.
Etymology Compound of 手当たり (feel, touch) and 次第 (order, as soon as). Literally 'in the order of what one's hand touches', it evolved to mean using anything one can lay hands on, haphazardly.
No., residence
