# 頑張る
## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 頑 | 張 |
| がん Grade: S (ateji) | は > ば Grade: 5 |
| kan'on | kun'yomi |
* Alternative spelling
* 眼張る

### Alternative forms

* 眼張る (depending on references)

### Etymology

Derivation uncertain. The two leading theories are:
* Sense shift from 眼張る (ganbaru, “to keep watch on something, to stare at something”, literally “keep one's eye on something”)
* Shift in pronunciation from 我に張る (ga ni haru, literally “to stick to one's desires, to insist on one's point of view”)
The sense was originally to be stubborn, to be obstinate, with negative overtones. The modern positive sense of to persist, to endure has arisen since the end of the Edo period in 1868.
The spelling is ateji (当て字), using the 頑 (gan) character to express a sense of stubborn. The historical kana reading ぐわんばる (gwanbaru) comes from the use of this 頑 character, and is not related to either of the expected derivations above.
Some sources use both 頑張る and 眼張る as spellings for the persist, endure sense. Other sources split these out as entirely separate entries.

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) がんばる [gàńbáꜜrù] (Nakadaka – [3])
* IPA: [ɡã̠mba̠ɾɯ̟]
* Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of 「頑張る」
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary :
| Stem forms ||||
| Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形) | 頑張る | がんばる | [gàńbáꜜrù] |
| Imperative (命令形) | 頑張れ | がんばれ | [gàńbáꜜrè] |
| Key constructions ||||
| Passive | 頑張られる | がんばられる | [gàńbáráréꜜrù] |
| Causative | 頑張らせる | がんばらせる | [gàńbáráséꜜrù] |
| Potential | 頑張れる | がんばれる | [gàńbáréꜜrù] |
| Volitional | 頑張ろう | がんばろー | [gàńbáróꜜò] |
| Negative | 頑張らない | がんばらない | [gàńbáráꜜnàì] |
| Negative perfective | 頑張らなかった | がんばらなかった | [gàńbáráꜜnàkàttà] |
| Formal | 頑張ります | がんばります | [gàńbárímáꜜsù] |
| Perfective | 頑張った | がんばった | [gàńbáꜜttà] |
| Conjunctive | 頑張って | がんばって | [gàńbáꜜttè] |
| Hypothetical conditional | 頑張れば | がんばれば | [gàńbáꜜrèbà] |
* (Kyoto) がんばる [gáńbárú] (Kōki – [0])

### Verb

頑(がん)張(ば)る • (ganbaru) intransitive godan (stem 頑(がん)張(ば)り (ganbari), past 頑(がん)張(ば)った (ganbatta))
* to work hard and do one's best to achieve a goal
    頑(がん)張(ば)っても痩(や)せない⁉
       ganbatte mo yasenai⁉
       Even though I'm trying so hard, I'm not losing weight!?
* to strive unrelentingly in the face of difficulty, to persevere
    頑(がん)張(ば)ってください。
       Ganbatte kudasai.
       Do your best →　Good luck!
    大(たい)変(へん)でしょうが、頑(がん)張(ば)ってください。
       Taihen deshō ga, ganbatte kudasai.
       It must be difficult for you but please keep up the fight.

#### Conjugation

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms") :
| Mizenkei ("imperfective") | 頑張ら | がんばら | ganbara |
| Ren’yōkei ("continuative") | 頑張り | がんばり | ganbari |
| Shūshikei ("terminal") | 頑張る | がんばる | ganbaru |
| Rentaikei ("attributive") | 頑張る | がんばる | ganbaru |
| Kateikei ("hypothetical") | 頑張れ | がんばれ | ganbare |
| Meireikei ("imperative") | 頑張れ | がんばれ | ganbare |
| Key constructions ||||
| Passive | 頑張られる | がんばられる | ganbarareru |
| Causative | 頑張らせる 頑張らす | がんばらせる がんばらす | ganbaraseru ganbarasu |
| Potential | 頑張れる | がんばれる | ganbareru |
| Volitional | 頑張ろう | がんばろう | ganbarō |
| Negative | 頑張らない | がんばらない | ganbaranai |
| Negative continuative | 頑張らず | がんばらず | ganbarazu |
| Formal | 頑張ります | がんばります | ganbarimasu |
| Perfective | 頑張った | がんばった | ganbatta |
| Conjunctive | 頑張って | がんばって | ganbatte |
| Hypothetical conditional | 頑張れば | がんばれば | ganbareba |

### References

* 1 2 3 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 4 5 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 4 Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
* ↑ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* 1 2 “がん‐ば・る 【眼張・頑（グヮン）張】”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here