人見知り

• 読み: ひとみしり
• ローマ字: hitomishiri
• 漢字の分解: 人 (person) + 見 (see) + 知り (know) → knowing/recognising people → being wary of unfamiliar faces
• 発音: /çi.to.mi.ɕi.ɾi/

意味

Shyness around strangers; being awkward or reserved when meeting new people.

人見知り originally described a developmental stage in babies who fear strangers, but it has become a widely used self-identifier among Japanese adults. Calling yourself 人見知り is socially acceptable and even somewhat endearing — it explains introversion without negative judgment. It is one of the most common self-descriptions on dating profiles and social media bios.

例文

1. 人見知りだから初対面の人と話すの苦手なんだよね。
2. 最初は人見知りするけど、慣れたらめっちゃ喋るよ。
3. 人見知りすぎて飲み会が毎回つらい。

使い方ガイド

場面: self-introduction, dating profiles, social media, casual conversation

トーン: self-deprecating, explanatory, endearing

正しい言い方

• 人見知りなので最初は静かかもしれません (I'm shy around strangers so I might be quiet at first)
• 人見知りだったけど最近克服しようとしてる (I was always shy but I've been trying to overcome it recently)

避ける言い方

• 社交的な人に「人見知りでしょ」と決めつけるのは失礼 (Assuming someone outgoing is actually 人見知り can be dismissive of their social efforts)

よくある間違い

• Translating 人見知り as social anxiety disorder — it is much milder and more socially acceptable than a clinical diagnosis
• Not realising almost everyone in Japan claims to be 人見知り to some degree — it is a comfortable social label

起源と歴史

From 人 (person) + 見知り (recognising/knowing by sight). Originally a child psychology term for the developmental stage when infants become wary of strangers (around 8 months). Extended to adult self-description in modern usage.

文化的背景

時代: Originally child psychology, widely adopted as adult self-description in modern era

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal

地域メモ: Used across all of Japan. Extremely common in self-introductions and social media profiles.