突き止める

• Reading: つきとめる
• Romaji: tsukitomeru
• Kanji breakdown: 突 (totsu/tsu) — thrust, stab, sudden; 止 (shi/to) — stop, halt
• Pronunciation: /tsɯ.ki.to.me.ɾɯ/

Meaning

To determine; to pin down; to ascertain; to locate; to identify, especially a cause or culprit.

A Group 2 (ichidan) transitive compound verb combining 突く (to thrust) and 止める (to stop). Conveys the sense of pursuing something relentlessly until the truth is nailed down. Frequently used in investigative, detective, and problem-solving contexts.

Examples

1. 警察は事件の原因を突き止めた。 The police pinpointed the cause of the incident.
2. 情報漏洩の経路を突き止める必要がある。 We need to track down the route of the information leak.
3. 何日もかけてようやく問題の原因を突き止めることができた。 After several days, we were finally able to identify the source of the problem.

Usage Guide

Context: investigation, problem-solving, journalism

Tone: determined

Origin & History

Compound of 突く (to thrust, to poke) and 止める (to stop, to fix). The image is of thrusting forward until you pin something in place, stopping its evasion.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal