〜つ〜つ: 'Alternating Between / Doing Both' (Meaning + Examples)
Two actions, back and forth or at once
〜つ〜つ takes two verb ます-stems — almost always a pair that are opposites or mirror images of each other — and glues つ onto each. The result describes the two actions repeating in alternation, or both being true of the scene at the same time, with a literary, scene-painting feel.
二頭の馬は抜きつ抜かれつ、ゴールに向かって走った。
にとうの うまは ぬきつ ぬかれつ、ごーるに むかって はしった。
The two horses ran toward the finish line, overtaking and being overtaken by turns.
抜く (overtake) and 抜かれる (be overtaken) alternate — a classic race description.
彼は部屋の中を行きつ戻りつしていた。
かれは へやの なかを いきつ もどりつ していた。
He was pacing back and forth across the room, going and returning.
やったんとモチは狭い道で抜きつ抜かれつしながら、おやつの棚まで競走した。
やったんと もちは せまい みちで ぬきつ ぬかれつ しながら、おやつの たなまで きょうそうした。
Yattan and Mochi raced to the snack shelf on the narrow path, overtaking each other back and forth.
Original example: two racers trading the lead.
Form: V(ます-stem)A + つ + V(ます-stem)B + つ
The two stems are typically an active/passive or forward/backward pair from the same verb family, and the whole thing is fixed enough to function almost like a compound adverb, often followed by する or している.
| Attaches to | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Vます-stem (active) | V1ます-stem + つ | 抜きつ = overtaking |
| Vます-stem (passive/reverse) | V2ます-stem + つ | 抜かれつ = being overtaken |
| Combined | V1つV2つ（する） | 抜きつ抜かれつ走る = run trading the lead |
持ちつ持たれつの関係で、この商店街は成り立っている。
もちつ もたれつの かんけいで、この しょうてんがいは なりたっている。
This shopping street survives on a give-and-take, mutually supportive relationship.
持ちつ持たれつ = a fixed idiom for 'give and take.'
Fixed idiom, not a free pattern — and not 〜たり〜たり
Unlike 〜たり〜たり, which you can build from almost any two verbs to list example actions, 〜つ〜つ only survives in a small closed set of expressions (抜きつ抜かれつ, 行きつ戻りつ, 持ちつ持たれつ). You cannot freely invent a new pair like 食べつ飲みつ — native speakers would find it odd or archaic. Treat 〜つ〜つ examples as vocabulary to recognize in literary writing, not a template to generate new sentences from.
The short version
- 〜つ〜つ = "back and forth / doing both at once" — classical pattern pairing opposite verb stems.
- Attaches to: two verb ます-stems (usually opposites), each + つ.
- Nuance/register: literary, classical, survives mainly in fixed idioms.
- Don't confuse with: 〜たり〜たり, the modern, freely productive version of "doing this and that."
Practice it
Recognize fixed 〜つ〜つ idioms describing two actions happening back and forth.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
マラソンの終盤、二人の選手は＿＿＿、僅差でゴールに飛び込んだ。
Where 〜つ〜つ fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- 〜において · N2 — 〜において is the formal, written equivalent of で/に, marking a location, time, or field of activity: 現代において ('in modern times'). Learn the pattern plus its adnominal form における.
- Past Tense · N5 — The plain past た-form means 'did.' It follows the same sound changes as the て-form (just て→た, で→だ): 食べた, 行った, 飲んだ. Learn it by verb group.
More N1 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜はおろか — 〜はおろか means 'let alone X' — it names a basic, easy case (X) and pairs it with a negative predicate to say that if even X isn't possible, a harder case (Y) certainly isn't either, similar to English 'not even X, let alone Y.'
- 〜を踏まえて — 〜を踏まえて means 'based on X' or 'taking X into account' — it introduces prior facts, results, or experience as the grounded foundation for a decision or action that follows, common in reports and formal discussion.
- 〜を経て — 〜を経て means 'through X' or 'after passing through X' — it marks a process, place, or period of time that was passed through before reaching a final result, often used for long journeys, careers, or lengthy processes.
- 〜を限りに — 〜を限りに marks a point in time as the last one — 'as of X, this ends.' Common in retirement announcements and store closures, it attaches to a noun and always signals a final cutoff, not a new beginning.
- 〜を兼ねて — 〜を兼ねて means doing one thing that also serves a second purpose: 散歩を兼ねて買い物に行く ('go shopping, which doubles as a walk'). Learn the noun+を兼ねて pattern, the 〜を兼ねる verb form, and how the main action and the side purpose line up.
- 〜を皮切りに — 〜を皮切りに means 'starting with X' — the first in a string of similar events that follow, like a tour's opening city. It attaches to a noun and always implies more of the same are coming.