ずつ

Submitted by admin on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 17:16

ずつ

zutsu

Meaning:	little by little; dividing by; each
JLPT Level:	3

Examples

一日漢字を１０個ずつ勉強しましょう！
ichi nichi kanji o juu ko zutsu benkyou shimashou!
a day-kanji-(direct object)-ten-units-a piece-study-let's
Let's study 10 kanji a day.

Notes: This is an example of ずつ adding to a total.

赤組と白組に二人ずつ分かれてください。
aka gumi to shiro gumi ni futari zutsu wakarete kudasai.
red-group-and-white-group-to-2 people-each-divide-please
Red team and white team, Please group into pairs.

Notes: This is an example of dividing with ずつ

Comments

with counting, measurements, or language.

A) Add little by little
B) separate a group by a certain amount.

hihlordjp from the forums wrote:
I have a little comment regarding 「ずつ」. I was taught it's づつ, which I believe is an older form. I'm not certain of the usage guidelines regarding the two variants, but I think it's generally safe to conclude that the former is the more modern, preferred form. ...Just thought to impart that.

Clay's Response:
I am glad it will be of help. Please do let me know if you find any corrections or find good examples. There is a submit link there.

I had never heard that. But I did look it up in a dictionary and it does give づつ as an alternate reading. I asked Yumi and she said she used both forms as a child, but was taught the ずつ form was correct in school.

After doing a google search, I found someone who has done all the research for us: http://blog.so-net.ne.jp/yuukok/2005-02-01 Great page. That person like Yumi was taught ずつ was the correct form but have seen づつ especially on old signs. The page says in Showa 61 (1983 - I think) the government settled on the ずつ reading.