駑馬に鞭打つ · godan verb (-tsu)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 駑馬に鞭打つ | 駑馬に鞭打たない |
| Polite | 駑馬に鞭打ちます | 駑馬に鞭打ちません |
| Past polite | 駑馬に鞭打ちました | 駑馬に鞭打ちませんでした |
| Past | 駑馬に鞭打った | 駑馬に鞭打たなかった |
| Te-form | 駑馬に鞭打って | 駑馬に鞭打たないで |
| Desire | 駑馬に鞭打ちたい | 駑馬に鞭打ちたくない |
| Potential | 駑馬に鞭打てる | 駑馬に鞭打てない |
| Passive | 駑馬に鞭打たれる | 駑馬に鞭打たれない |
| Causative | 駑馬に鞭打たせる | 駑馬に鞭打たせない |
| Causative passive | 駑馬に鞭打たせられるalso 駑馬に鞭打たされる | 駑馬に鞭打たせられないalso 駑馬に鞭打たされない |
| Volitional | 駑馬に鞭打とう | |
| Polite volitional | 駑馬に鞭打ちましょう | |
| Imperative | 駑馬に鞭打て | 駑馬に鞭打つな |
| Conditional | 駑馬に鞭打てば | 駑馬に鞭打たなければ |
| Tara conditional | 駑馬に鞭打ったら | 駑馬に鞭打たなかったら |
work hard; keep one's nose to the grindstone
Humble expression used to describe one's own persistent effort, often despite limited ability. Literally 'to whip a jaded horse'.
I will also work hard and see this job through to the end.
push someone beyond their ability
Original meaning: to force someone to do something beyond their capacity. Now rare; the humble self-reference sense is more common.
In old texts, 駑馬に鞭打つ is used to mean making someone do more than they are capable of.