JLPT N1 · Verb

こだわる (kodawaru)

こだわる is a Japanese verb meaning “to be obsessive (about); to be overly concerned (with)”. It is usually written in kana. It appears in JLPT N1 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading: こだわる
Romaji: kodawaru
Word class: Godan verb (う-verb) ending in る
Level: JLPT N1 (unofficial)

Meaning

to be obsessive (about); to be overly concerned (with); to fuss (over); to worry too much (about); to be picky (about) · godan verb, intransitive · usually written in kana
to be particular (about); to pay special attention (to); to be fastidious (about); to insist (on); to be uncompromising · godan verb, intransitive · usually written in kana · positive nuance
to get stuck; to be obstructed · godan verb, intransitive · dated, usually written in kana

Example sentences

殿方が細かいことにこだわるものではありません。

It doesn't become a gentleman to fuss over trifles.

Tatoeba #75854

その男の子はあくまでも髪の毛を伸ばすことにこだわった。

The boy persisted in wearing his hair long.

Tatoeba #208162

日本人はあまり宗教にはこだわらない。

Japanese are not so particular about religion.

Tatoeba #122274

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of こだわる

Godan verb (う-verb) ending in る. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

Form	Japanese	Reading
Dictionary	こだわる	こだわる kodawaru
Polite (~masu)	こだわります	こだわります kodawarimasu
Negative	こだわらない	こだわらない kodawaranai
Polite negative	こだわりません	こだわりません kodawarimasen
Past	こだわった	こだわった kodawatta
Polite past	こだわりました	こだわりました kodawarimashita
Negative past	こだわらなかった	こだわらなかった kodawaranakatta
Te-form	こだわって	こだわって kodawatte
Potential	こだわれる	こだわれる kodawareru
Passive	こだわられる	こだわられる kodawarareru
Causative	こだわらせる	こだわらせる kodawaraseru
Volitional	こだわろう	こだわろう kodawarou
Imperative	こだわれ	こだわれ kodaware
Conditional (~ba)	こだわれば	こだわれば kodawareba

Source: JMdict entry 1004480 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.