Four verbs meaning "to pursue": 追う, 追いかける, 追っかける and 辿る Consider the following four verbs: * - _ou_ (view in jisho.org) * - _oikakeru_ (view in jisho.org) * - _okkakeru_ (view in jisho.org) * - _tadoru_ (view in jisho.org) **They all can mean "pursue". What are their differences?** * * * _Note: I did read their definitions and tried to catch some nuances by myself, but I am not sure about them. My thoughts was that the first three seem to carry an idea of a chase that requires effort, while the fourth allows an "easy" pursue, such as following a hyperlink on the internet. But even if this guess is correct, the difference between the first three verbs would remain unknown._

is closer to "to trace (a road, a wire, etc)" and it does not mean "to chase". is just a colloquial variation of .

and are _mostly_ interchangeable. The primary meaning of and is "to chase (a car, a dream, etc)" or "to follow (an interesting topic, a person that has gone to another country, etc)". Perhaps the biggest difference is the level of formality. In casual conversations is mainly used, while sounds more formal and/or literary. In addition, only means , "to drive (a herd of cattle, like a cowboy)".

**EDIT** : You may have seen this post, but I'm not really convinced by their explanation. In a drama, a senior police officer might say "()!" with great urgency and it sounds to me more formal and/or dignified than saying "!"