頑張る · godan verb (-ru)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 頑張る | 頑張らない |
| Polite | 頑張ります | 頑張りません |
| Past polite | 頑張りました | 頑張りませんでした |
| Past | 頑張った | 頑張らなかった |
| Te-form | 頑張って | 頑張らないで |
| Desire | 頑張りたい | 頑張りたくない |
| Potential | 頑張れる | 頑張れない |
| Passive | 頑張られる | 頑張られない |
| Causative | 頑張らせる | 頑張らせない |
| Causative passive | 頑張らせられるalso 頑張らされる | 頑張らせられないalso 頑張らされない |
| Volitional | 頑張ろう | |
| Polite volitional | 頑張りましょう | |
| Imperative | 頑張れ | 頑張るな |
| Conditional | 頑張れば | 頑張らなければ |
| Tara conditional | 頑張ったら | 頑張らなかったら |
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
persevere; keep at it; do one's best; hold out
The most common use: continuing with effort despite difficulty, or giving encouragement with forms such as 頑張って. It is grammatically intransitive, though it often appears with an activity in casual Japanese.
つらいけど、最後まで頑張ります。
It's tough, but I'll do my best until the end.
Good luck on tomorrow's exam.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
insist; stick to one's opinion
Used when someone stubbornly maintains a claim or position, often with a quoted statement plus と. This is less basic for learners than the encouragement sense.
He insisted to the end, 'I never made such a promise.'
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
remain in place; stick to one's post; refuse to budge
A limited, older-sounding or literary use for physically staying put or holding a position. In ordinary modern speech, words such as 踏ん張る or 動かない may be more natural depending on the situation.
In older writing, 頑張る may be used as in 'soldiers remain at the fort,' meaning to stay at one's post.
I'm working hard on studying for next month's exam.
He stubbornly insisted that he was right.
I'm working hard for my family's sake.
Even if it's tough, I intend to keep at it until the end.
I worked hard and passed the exam.
頑張る is a casual, everyday verb for doing one's best or hanging in there, while 努める is slightly more formal and implies deliberate, conscious effort.
頑張る is a general verb for doing one's best or persisting, but 持ちこたえる specifically implies withstanding external pressure or maintaining a position.
頑張る (to persevere) is the opposite of 投げる in its 'give up' sense, where one stops trying instead of pushing on.
頑張る means to try hard and give full effort, the opposite of 手を抜く, which means to hold back effort.
頑張る means to keep trying and persevere, the opposite of 投げ出す in the sense of giving up on something.
頑張る means to keep trying and persevere, the opposite of ギブアップ which means to quit or give up.
one last push; extra effort; going the extra mile