Meanings
gambaru1
- uncountablePerseverance even with the hardest of tasks, in the context of Japanese culture.
The do-or-die mentality gambaru permeates Japanese society, where the pursuit of a goal can carry more significance than the outcome.
2020 August 24, Kaori Enjoji, “‘Do or die’ mentality brings Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to the brink”, in CNN, archived from the original on 23 May 2025
Gambaru2
- A town in Borno, Nigeria.
A pickup loaded with Chadian troops crosses the bridge into Gambaru to reinforce their peers locked in an hours-long heavy exchange of gunfire with Boko Haram fighters.
2015 February 20, Ngala Killian Chimtom, “Soldiers from Cameroon, Chad take on Boko Haram at Nigerian border”, in CNN1 more example
In January, Boko Haram struck Fotokol, a Cameroonian town separated by only a bridge from Gambarou^([sic]), Nigeria, a stronghold of the Islamist extremists. The attackers killed more than 400 people.
2015 March 3, Ngala Killian Chimtom, “Cameroon in for long fight as its youth join Boko Haram”, in CNN
Origin
- Japanese頑張る“work hard, do one's best”
- Englishgambaru
Borrowed from Japanese 頑張る (ganbaru, “work hard, do one's best”).
More words from Japanese
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
gambaru. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gambaru
“gambaru.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gambaru. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gambaru,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gambaru.
Source: gambaru on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.