ねばねば

Japanese

Alternative spelling
粘々

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) ばねば [néꜜbànèbà] (Atamadaka – [1])[1] applies to the adverb and the -suru verb
  • (Tokyo) ばねば [nèbánébá] (Heiban – [0])[1] applies to the noun
  • IPA(key): [ne̞ba̠ne̞ba̠]

Adverb

ねばねば or ネバネバ • (nebaneba

  1. stickily
  2. persistently

Noun

ねばねば or ネバネバ • (nebaneba

  1. stickiness
  2. persistence

Usage notes

When this term refers to being persistent, it often has a negative connotation.

Verb

ねばねばする or ネバネバする • (nebaneba surusuru (stem ねばねば (nebaneba shi), past ねばねばした (nebaneba shita))

  1. be sticky, greasy
    ()ねばねばした
    Te ga nebaneba shita.
    My hands are sticky.
  2. be persistent, tenacious

Conjugation

Conjugation of "ねばねばする" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs)
Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective") ねばねばし nebaneba shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative") ねばねばし nebaneba shi
Shūshikei ("terminal") ねばねばする nebaneba suru
Rentaikei ("attributive") ねばねばする nebaneba suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical") ねばねばすれ nebaneba sure
Meireikei ("imperative") ねばねばせよ¹
ねばねばしろ²
nebaneba seyo¹
nebaneba shiro²
Key constructions
Passive ねばねばされる nebaneba sareru
Causative ねばねばさせる
ねばねばさす
nebaneba saseru
nebaneba sasu
Potential ねばねばできる nebaneba dekiru
Volitional ねばねばしよう nebaneba shiyō
Negative ねばねばしない nebaneba shinai
Negative continuative ねばねばせず nebaneba sezu
Formal ねばねばします nebaneba shimasu
Perfective ねばねばした nebaneba shita
Conjunctive ねばねばして nebaneba shite
Hypothetical conditional ねばねばすれば nebaneba sureba

¹ Written imperative
² Spoken imperative

Synonyms

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN