Quick Reference

Meaning & Definition

追いつく captures something deeply Japanese: the drive to close the gap. Whether it’s a child sprinting after a friend, a student cramming before exams, or an entire nation rebuilding its economy, 追いつく is the verb for that moment when effort finally bridges the distance between where you are and where you need to be.

追いつく (oitsuku) means to catch up with someone or something — physically, academically, professionally, or temporally. The core idea is reaching a moving target that was previously ahead of you.

In everyday speech it covers three overlapping senses: literal pursuit (mae no hito ni oitsuku — catch up to the person ahead), closing a gap in progress (jugyou ni oitsuku — catch up with class), and keeping pace with change (jidai ni oitsuku — keep up with the times).

The verb pairs naturally with ni to mark what you’re catching up to: minna ni oitsuku (catch up with everyone). It is intransitive — the subject is always the one doing the catching, never the one being caught. The causative form oitsukasereru (to be made to catch up) appears in workplace or school contexts where someone else sets the pace.

In formal writing and news, 追いつく often describes industries or economies closing a competitive gap, carrying a nuance of sustained effort rather than a single burst of speed.

How to Use It

Learners often confuse 追いつく with 追いかける (oikakeru). The key difference: 追いかける means the chase is ongoing and the target is still ahead; 追いつく means you have successfully closed the gap and reached the same level. Use 追いかける when describing the pursuit, 追いつく when describing the moment of arrival.

Also watch the negative: oitsukenai (can’t catch up) is extremely common in spoken Japanese — students say it about schoolwork, employees about workloads. It carries a tone of mild exhaustion rather than defeat, and is softer than saying you’ve failed.

Don’t confuse with 追い越す (oikosu), which means to overtake or surpass — going past the target rather than merely reaching it.

Kanji Breakdown

追いつく is written with two kanji components. 追 (おい) comes from the character meaning “to chase” or “to pursue” — seen in words like 追いかける (oikakeru, to chase after) and 追跡 (tsuiseki, tracking/pursuit). The radical 辶 (a movement radical) reinforces the sense of forward motion. 付く (つく) means “to attach,” “to reach,” or “to come into contact with” — found in 気付く (kizuku, to notice) and 近付く (chikazuku, to draw near). Together, 追いつく literally means “to chase and attach” — to pursue until you make contact with your target.

Example Sentences

Cultural Context

The phrase 追いつけ追い越せ (oitsuke oikose) — “catch up and overtake” — became a national rallying cry in postwar Japan. As the country rebuilt its industrial base through the 1950s and 1960s, the goal of matching and then surpassing Western manufacturing output gave 追いつく an almost patriotic weight. MITI-guided industries adopted this mindset explicitly, and it shaped a generation’s understanding of hard work as collective catch-up rather than individual ambition.

In modern Japanese education, 追いつく is embedded in a culture of remedial pressure. When a student falls behind after illness or struggles with a new unit, the conversation at home and school centers on how to 追いつく — catch back up to the class average. This reflects Japan’s strong emphasis on cohort progress: the group moves together, and falling behind is felt as separation from the group rather than simply a personal setback. Cram schools (juku) market themselves explicitly on their ability to help students 追いつく before exams.

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