破竹

• 読み: はちく
• ローマ字: hachiku
• 漢字の分解: 破 (ha/yabu) — break, split, rend; 竹 (chiku/take) — bamboo
• 発音: /hatɕikɯ/

意味

Sweeping advance; unstoppable momentum. Progress or advance so forceful that it cannot be stopped.

Most commonly encountered in the phrase 破竹の勢い (irresistible force, literally 'momentum like splitting bamboo'). When bamboo splits, it continues along its grain without resistance — hence the metaphor for unstoppable forward momentum. Used in sports commentary, military history, business, and politics.

例文

1. そのチームは破竹の勢いで連勝を重ね、首位に躍り出た。
2. 創業から五年、同社は破竹の勢いで業績を拡大してきた。
3. 新人候補は破竹の勢いで支持を集め、選挙戦を制した。

使い方ガイド

場面: sports, business, politics, military history

トーン: energetic

起源と歴史

From the image of splitting bamboo (竹を破る). Once split, bamboo separates effortlessly along its grain — a classical Chinese metaphor, found in military writings, for an advance that encounters no real resistance.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal