ふつふつ

ふ

つ

ふ

つ

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

adverb taking the 'to' particle

simmering; bubbling; welling up

usually written using kana alone

Describes liquid simmering gently, or emotions/thoughts welling up inside. Often used with と (ふつふつと).

鍋なべの中なかでお湯ゆがふつふつと沸わいている。
The water is simmering gently in the pot.
怒いかりがふつふつと込こみ上あげてきた。
Anger welled up inside me.

Kanji

沸seethe, boil, ferment

Related words

ぐつぐつ
ぐつぐつ describes a more vigorous, rolling boil, often with sound, while ふつふつ is a gentle simmer or quiet bubbling.
沸わく
沸く is the verb 'to boil', while ふつふつ is an adverb describing the simmering state or the welling up of emotions.

Written forms

ふつふつUsage53%
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 沸々 and 沸沸 are rare and mainly literary.
フツフツUsage31%
沸ふつ々ふつUsage15%
Rare kanji spelling; the repetition mark 々 is used, but the kana form is strongly preferred.
沸ふつ沸ふつUsage2%
Rare kanji spelling without the repetition mark; even less common than 沸々.

Etymology

An onomatopoeic word mimicking the sound and appearance of gentle boiling or bubbling. The kanji 沸 means 'boil' and is used for its meaning, but the word itself is native Japanese.