気まずい

• 読み: きまずい
• ローマ字: kimazui
• 漢字の分解: 気 (ki) — feeling, mood, atmosphere; まずい — bad, unpleasant (compound adjective)
• 発音: /ki.ma.zɯ.i/

意味

Awkward; uncomfortable; strained. Describes the tense, unnatural atmosphere between people when something has gone wrong or remains unresolved between them.

An i-adjective describing the social discomfort that arises when an argument, embarrassing moment, or unresolved bad feeling makes natural interaction impossible. Carries the sense of being unable to act at ease due to interpersonal tension. Very common in everyday spoken Japanese and closely parallels the English 'awkward' in its social register.

例文

1. 喧嘩した翌日、二人の間は気まずい雰囲気が漂っていた。
2. 気まずい沈黙が続いた後、彼がようやく口を開いた。
3. 同窓会で元交際相手と顔を合わせ、気まずい思いをした。

使い方ガイド

場面: relationships, social situation, everyday language

トーン: uncomfortable

起源と歴史

Compound of 気 (mood, feeling, atmosphere) and まずい (bad, unpleasant). Literally describes a 'bad feeling atmosphere.' The word captures social awkwardness with precision; it has no exact single-word English equivalent.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal