クタクタ

• 読み: くたくた
• ローマ字: kuta kuta
• 発音: /kɯ.ta.kɯ.ta/

意味

Worn out, dead tired, or physically depleted. Also describes limp, wilted objects.

クタクタ conveys being thoroughly worn out — like a wrung-out dishcloth or a wilted plant. It emphasizes the physical aspect of exhaustion: your body feels limp and useless. Beyond describing fatigue, it's also used for objects that have lost their shape or stiffness — a クタクタ bag is a well-worn, floppy bag, and クタクタ vegetables are overcooked and mushy. This dual usage makes it uniquely descriptive.

例文

1. 一日中歩いてクタクタになった。
2. このバッグ使いすぎてクタクタだけど愛着ある。
3. クタクタに煮込んだ野菜が好き。

使い方ガイド

場面: daily life, cooking, describing wear

トーン: tired, worn

正しい言い方

• クタクタで動けない (I'm so worn out I can't move)
• クタクタに煮たキャベツ美味しいよね (Cabbage boiled until it's soft and limp is delicious)

避ける言い方

• フォーマルな場で「クタクタ」は避ける — 「大変疲れました」を使う (Avoid 'kuta kuta' in formal settings — use 大変疲れました)

よくある間違い

• Not knowing the object meaning — クタクタ can describe floppy, well-worn items, not just tired people
• Confusing with ヘトヘト — both mean exhausted, but クタクタ emphasizes physical limpness

起源と歴史

Onomatopoeia imitating the sensation of something going limp and losing its structure. Applied to both human exhaustion (body going limp) and physical objects (losing rigidity). Traditional Japanese expression.

文化的背景

時代: Traditional onomatopoeia

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal

地域メモ: Used across all of Japan. The cooking usage (クタクタ煮) is popular in Japanese recipe descriptions.