かんばしい

• 読み: かんばしい
• ローマ字: kanbashii
• 漢字の分解: 芳 (hou/ka) — fragrant, virtuous (kanji form 芳しい; commonly written in kana)
• 発音: /kam.ba.ɕi.i/

意味

Fragrant; sweet-smelling; favourable; auspicious. In the positive sense, describes a pleasant aroma; in the figurative (often negative) sense, describes results or progress.

An i-adjective written in kana (kanji form: 芳しい). In its literal sense, describes a sweet, pleasant fragrance. In its figurative sense — overwhelmingly common in the negative form かんばしくない — it means 'not favourable' or 'not promising,' describing results, progress, or rumours that fall short of expectations. The figurative negative use is especially common in formal and journalistic contexts.

例文

1. 庭に咲く梅の花のかんばしい香りが漂ってきた。
2. 試験の結果はかんばしくなく、追試を受けることになった。
3. かんばしい噂を聞かないまま、プロジェクトは延期になった。

使い方ガイド

場面: fragrance, evaluation, news, results

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

From the classical Japanese adjective 芳し (fragrant), related to 芳 (fragrant, virtuous). The positive meaning of sweet scent extended to favourable or auspicious outcomes. The negative figurative use is now the more common form in modern Japanese.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Universal