頑張る

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Japanese

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Kanji in this term
がん
Grade: S
は > ば
Grade: 5
kan'on kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
眼張る

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Derivation uncertain. The two leading theories are:

  • Sense shift from 眼張る (ganbaru, to keep watch on something, to stare at something, literally keep one's eye on something)[1][2][3]
  • Shift in pronunciation from 我に張る (ga ni haru, literally to stick to one's desires, to insist on one's point of view)[1][2][3][4]

The sense was originally to be stubborn, to be obstinate, with negative overtones. The modern positive sense of to persist, to endure has arisen since the end of the Edo period in 1868.

The spelling is ateji (当て字),[2][3][5] using the (gan) character to express a sense of stubborn. The historical kana reading ぐわんばる (gwanbaru) comes from the use of this character, and is not related to either of the expected derivations above.

Some sources use both 頑張る and 眼張る as spellings for the persist, endure sense.[1] Other sources split these out as entirely separate entries.[2][3]

Pronunciation

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  • Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of 「頑張る
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形)
Attributive (連体形)
頑張る んば [gàńbáꜜrù]
Imperative (命令形) 頑張れ んば [gàńbáꜜrè]
Key constructions
Passive 頑張られる んばられ [gàńbáráréꜜrù]
Causative 頑張らせる んばらせ [gàńbáráséꜜrù]
Potential 頑張れる んばれ [gàńbáréꜜrù]
Volitional 頑張ろう んばろ [gàńbáróꜜò]
Negative 頑張らない んばらない [gàńbáráꜜnàì]
Negative perfective 頑張らなかった んばらなかった [gàńbáráꜜnàkàttà]
Formal 頑張ります んばりま [gàńbárímáꜜsù]
Perfective 頑張った んばった [gàńbáꜜttà]
Conjunctive 頑張って んばって [gàńbáꜜttè]
Hypothetical conditional 頑張れば んばれば [gàńbáꜜrèbà]

Verb

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(がん)() (ganbaruぐわんばる (gwanbaru)?intransitive godan (stem (がん)() (ganbari), past (がん)()った (ganbatta))

  1. to work hard and do one's best to achieve a goal
    (がん)()って()せない
    ganbatte mo yasenai⁉
    Even though I'm trying so hard, I'm not losing weight!?
  2. to strive unrelentingly in the face of difficulty, to persevere
    (がん)()ってください
    Ganbatte kudasai.
    Do your best → Good luck!
    (たい)(へん)でしょうが、(がん)()ってください
    Taihen deshō ga, ganbatte kudasai.
    It must be difficult for you but please keep up the fight.

Conjugation

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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  4. 4.0 4.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. ^ Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
  6. 6.0 6.1 がん‐ば・る 【眼張・頑(グヮン)張】Paid subscription required”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
  7. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN