つつ

Japanese

Etymology 1

From Old Japanese.

Particle

つつ • (tsutsu) 

1. while, -ing, for two actions happening at once

   様(さま)々(ざま)な目(もく)的(てき)や意(い)味(み)を込(こ)めつつ食(しょく)事(じ)をしている。

   Samazama na mokuteki ya imi o kome tsutsu shokuji o shiteiru.

   People have meals with various goals or meanings.

2. although, doing in spite of opposition
3. in the process of

Usage notes

This attaches to the 連用形 form of a verb.

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of つつ – see the following entries.

【筒】S [noun] tube [noun] hub (central part of a wheel)

【銃】S [noun] gun, firearm

【鶺鴒】 [noun] (archaic, poetic) wagtail

(This term, つつ (tsutsu), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as つつ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as つつ.)