I Love Kanji頑張る (ganbaru)
頑張る (がんばる, ganbaru) is a Japanese verb meaning “to persevere; to persist”. It appears in JLPT N4 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.
- Reading
- がんばる
- Romaji
- ganbaru
- Word class
- Godan verb (う-verb) ending in る
- Level
- JLPT N4 (unofficial)
Meaning
- to persevere; to persist; to keep at it; to hang on; to hold out · godan verb, intransitive
- to insist that; to stick to (one's opinion) · godan verb, intransitive
- to remain in a place; to stick to one's post; to refuse to budge · godan verb, intransitive
Example sentences
Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.
Conjugation of 頑張る
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 | 頑張る | がんばる ganbaru |
| Polite (~masu) | 頑張ります | がんばります ganbarimasu |
| Negative | 頑張らない | がんばらない ganbaranai |
| Polite negative | 頑張りません | がんばりません ganbarimasen |
| Past | 頑張った | がんばった ganbatta |
| Polite past | 頑張りました | がんばりました ganbarimashita |
| Negative past | 頑張らなかった | がんばらなかった ganbaranakatta |
| Te-form | 頑張って | がんばって ganbatte |
| Potential | 頑張れる | がんばれる ganbareru |
| Passive | 頑張られる | がんばられる ganbarareru |
| Causative | 頑張らせる | がんばらせる ganbaraseru |
| Volitional | 頑張ろう | がんばろう ganbarou |
| Imperative | 頑張れ | がんばれ ganbare |
| Conditional (~ba) | 頑張れば | がんばれば ganbareba |
Kanji in 頑張る
頑
stubborn, foolish, firmlyガン・かたく.な · 13 strokes張
counter for bows & stringed instruments, stretch, spreadチョウ・は.る・-は.り · 11 strokesRelated words
Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 頑張る.
頑固がんこstubborn頑丈がんじょうsolid主張しゅちょうclaim緊張きんちょうtension引っ張るひっぱるto pull拡張かくちょうexpansion出張しゅっちょうbusiness trip威張るいばるto put on airs欲張りよくばりgreed張り切るはりきるto be in high spirits誇張こちょうexaggeration膨張ぼうちょうexpansion張り紙はりがみpaper patch attached to something突っ張るつっぱるto cramp up
Source: JMdict entry 1217700 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.