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とばっちり Japanese meaning | Kotomora

とばっちり

also: とばしり · とばちり

と

ば

っ

ち

り

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

usually written using kana alone

Refers to liquid splashing or spraying, often as a result of impact or sudden movement.

車くるまが水みずたまりを通とおって、とばっちりがかかった。
A car went through a puddle and the splash got on me.

2

noun

getting dragged into; getting mixed up in; collateral damage

usually written using kana alone

Used when someone is unintentionally involved in trouble, a quarrel, or an unpleasant situation, often as a bystander. The nuance is of being splashed by the fallout of others' actions.

隣となりの喧けん嘩かのとばっちりで、彼かれも警けい察さつに呼よばれた。
He got dragged into the neighbors' fight and was called by the police too.
会かい社しゃの不ふ祥しょう事じのとばっちりを受うけて、関かん係けいない部ぶ署しょまで予よ算さんを削けずられた。
Because of the company's scandal, even unrelated departments had their budgets cut as collateral damage.

Written forms

とばっちりUsage96%
Standard kana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
トバッチリUsage4%
とばしり
rarely-used kana form
Rare kana variant.
とばちり
rarely-used kana form
Rare kana variant.
迸り
rarely-used kanji form
- とばっちり
  Rare kanji form; not commonly used.
- とばしり
  rarely-used kana form
- とばちり
  rarely-used kana form
逬り
rarely-used kanji form
- とばっちり
  Rare kanji form; not commonly used.
- とばしり
  rarely-used kana form
- とばちり
  rarely-used kana form

Kanji

迸gush out, spurt
逬to scatter, to expel, to crack

Similar words

飛ひ沫まつ
飛沫 refers specifically to droplets or spray, often in a medical or scientific context, while とばっちり is more colloquial and can also mean being dragged into trouble.
巻まき添ぞえ
巻き添え means being involved in an incident or trouble, similar to the second sense of とばっちり, but とばっちり carries a stronger image of being splashed or hit by the indirect consequences.

Etymology

Derived from the verb 迸る (とばしる), meaning 'to splash' or 'to gush out'. The form とばっちり is a colloquial or emphatic variant, possibly influenced by mimetic patterns. The figurative sense of being dragged into trouble comes from the image of being splashed by something unpleasant.