～つつある
in the process of
～つつある attaches to the ます-stem of a verb and says that a change is under way, advancing step by step. It belongs to written and formal Japanese and pairs naturally with verbs of change such as 増える, 変わる, and 消える.
English equivalents are “is gradually ~ing” or “is on the way to ~ing”. It shares the stem-plus-つつ shape with plain ～つつ (“while doing”), but the added ある turns it into a statement about ongoing change.
A gradual change in progress
Use ～つつある to report a trend that has started and is moving toward completion.
景気は回復しつつある。
“The economy is gradually recovering.”
- 景気（けいき）= the economy, business conditions
- は = topic marker
- 回復しつつある（かいふくしつつある）= is in the process of recovering
伝統的な祭りが消えつつある。
“Traditional festivals are disappearing.”
- 伝統的な（でんとうてきな）= traditional
- 祭り（まつり）= festival
- が = subject marker
- 消えつつある（きえつつある）= is in the process of disappearing
The festivals are not gone yet, they are partway along the road to disappearing. That mid-change snapshot is exactly what ～つつある contributes.
How to form it
Verb ます-stem + つつある
- 回復する（かいふくする）= to recover → 回復しつつある（かいふくしつつある）= is recovering
- 増える（ふえる）= to increase → 増えつつある（ふえつつある）= is on the rise
- 変わる（かわる）= to change → 変わりつつある（かわりつつある）= is changing
Key idea
～つつある freezes a change mid-flight: the process has begun, is advancing little by little, and has not reached its endpoint. Reach for it in formal writing when ～ている would suggest the change is already complete.
Built on the same stem
Updated .