Japanese

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) こだわ​る [kòdáwáꜜrù] (Nakadaka - [3])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ko̞da̠ɰᵝa̠ɾ̠ɯᵝ]

Verb

拘る ‎(intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana こだわる, romaji kodawaru, historical hiragana こだはる)

1. to get hung up on something, to not proceed smoothly

   些細 (ささい)なことに拘 (こだわ)って納品 (のうひん)が遅 (おく)れた。

   Sasai na koto ni kodawatte nōhin ga okureta.

   He got hung up on minor details, and he was late delivering [the product].

2. to be concerned over something that is not worth attention: to be overly fastidious or particular

   無視 (むし)すればよいのに、どうして拘 (こだわ)るの。

   Mushi sureba yoi noni, dōshite kodawaru no.

   You should be ignoring that, so why are you worrying about it?

3. to nitpick about something

   メニューの言葉遣 (ことばづか)いに拘 (こだわ)り文句 (もんく)を言 (い)う

   menyū no kotobazukai ni kodawari monku o iu

   to nitpick and complain about the wording of the menu

4. to take special care over something, to be particular (in a positive way)

   品質 (ひんしつ)に拘 (こだわ)る

   hinshitsu ni kodawaru

   to be careful about quality, to be particular about quality

Usage notes

Usually written in hiragana.

Though intransitive, this verb usually takes an indirect object followed by the particle に ‎(ni).

The positive connotations of sense 4 appear to be a more recent development. Some speakers and writers may caution against using the word this way.

Conjugation

Synonyms

Etymology 2

Derived from the explicitly intransitive or passive form of root verb かかう ‎(kakau, “to carry, to be carried: 抱う, 香う”):
kakau > imperfective form kakawa + auxiliary verb る ‎(ru, indicating spontaneous or passive action).

In turn, kakau derives from root verb かく ‎(kaku, “to catch one thing atop another: 掛く, 懸く”):
kaku > imperfective form kaka + auxiliary verb ふ ‎(fu, indicating repetition or ongoing state: modern verb ending う u).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) かかわ​る [kàkáwáꜜrù] (Nakadaka - [3])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ka̠ɰᵝa̠ɾ̠ɯᵝ]

Alternative forms

• 拘わる
• 関わる
• 係わる

Verb

拘る ‎(intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana かかわる, romaji kakawaru, historical hiragana かかはる)

1. to be in relation to, to be relevant to, to be involved in

   その事件 (じけん)にかかわっていません。

   Sono jiken ni kakawatte imasen.

   I was not involved in that incident.

2. to be involved in a negative way: to meddle, to interfere

   家族 (かぞく)の件 (けん)ですのでかかわらない方 (ほう)が良 (い)いです。

   Kazoku no ken desu node kakawaranai hō ga ii desu.

   It's a family affair, so it would be best not to interfere.

3. to have a substantial effect on something, to endanger something

   命 (いのち)にかかわること

   inochi ni kakawaru koto

   a matter of life and death

   • 名誉 (めいよ)にかかわる問題 (もんだい)

     meiyo ni kakawaru mondai

     a problem affecting / impinging upon one's honor

4. to get hung up on something

   こんな平凡 (へいぼん)なことになぜかかわるのか。

   Konna heibon na koto ni naze kakawaru no ka.

   Why are you getting hung up on / why are you worrying over such a humdrum issue?

Usage notes

Usually written in hiragana. When written in kanji, sense 4 “to get hung up on something” is generally written as 拘る or 拘わる, with the other senses written as 関わる or 係わる.

Though intransitive, this verb usually takes an indirect object followed by the particle に ‎(ni).

Conjugation

Synonyms

References

1. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9