つい

Japanese

Etymology 1

Possibly related to 付き (tsuki) , with a semantic transition of “to attach” to “near”.

Adverb

つい • (tsui) 

1. just now; quite near
2. just now without thinking / subconsciously

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 對 (MC twojH).

For pronunciation and definitions of つい – see the following entries.

【対】3 [counter] items that come in pairs [counter] sets of furniture etc. [noun] pair

【終】3 [noun] end, conclusion [noun] end-of-life, death Alternative spellings 竟, 遂

(This term, つい, is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as つい, see Category:Japanese kanji read as つい.)