粘り強さ
nebari-tsuyosa
Tenacity in Japanese is 粘り強さ (nebari-tsuyosa).
粘り強さ is used to describe a person's mental perseverance or the ability to stick with a difficult task until it is completed.
Meaning: quality or state of being tenacious (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 粘り (nebari), meaning stickiness or persistence and 強さ (tsuyosa), meaning strength.
How do you pronounce it?
nebari-tsuyosa
Did you know?
- The root word 粘り (nebari) describes both mental tenacity and the physical stickiness of food, such as the texture of high-quality glutinous rice or natto.
- While English often uses 'tenacity' to describe grit, if you use the word 粘着 (nenchaku) instead, you might accidentally imply someone is 'clingy' or 'adhesive' in a socially uncomfortable way.
- Japanese has several words for perseverance, but 粘り強さ (nebari-tsuyosa) specifically evokes the image of something that refuses to be pulled apart, unlike 忍耐 (nintai), which suggests enduring pain.
Examples in context
- 彼は頑張り屋だから、どんな困難にも立ち向かえます。Because he is tenacious, he can face any difficulty.
- 彼の粘り強さは素晴らしい。Kare no nebarizuyosa wa subarashii.His tenacity is wonderful.
- 目標を達成するには粘り強さが必要だ。Mokuhyou o tassei suru ni wa nebarizuyosa ga hitsuyou da.Tenacity is necessary to achieve goals.
Example conversation
Two colleagues are discussing a difficult project at work.
- 陽葵 Himari大翔さんは、本当に粘り強さがありますね。Hiroto-san wa, hontou ni nebarizuyosa ga arimasu ne.Hiroto, you really have tenacity.
- 大翔 Hirotoありがとうございます。諦めたくないんです。Arigatou gozaimasu. Akirametakunai n desu.Thank you. I don't want to give up.
- 陽葵 Himariその姿勢、とても尊敬します。Sono shisei, totemo sonkei shimasu.I really respect that attitude.
- 大翔 Hiroto陽葵さんも、一緒に頑張りましょう。Himari-san mo, issho ni ganbarimashou.Let's work hard together, Himari.
