taru-adjective, adverb taking the 'to' particle
haltingly; falteringly; stammeringly
Describes speech that is hesitant, broken, or delivered with difficulty. Often used with verbs like 話す or 語る, and commonly takes the と particle. The word itself is somewhat literary.
He haltingly expressed his opinion.
It was a faltering way of speaking, but the content was profound.
Standard kanji form using the repetition mark 々. The kanji 訥 means 'stutter' or 'hesitate in speech'.
Kana spelling is common in modern writing, especially when the kanji are considered obscure.
Full kanji repetition form of the variant 吶々.
Full kanji repetition form, less common than 訥々.
Variant kanji form using 吶, which also means 'stutter' or 'slow of speech'.
The word is a reduplication of the kanji 訥 (or 吶), which carries the meaning 'stutter' or 'hesitate in speech'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it likely originated as a mimetic or onomatopoeic expression for hesitant speech.