言葉を濁す

• 読み: ことばをにごす
• ローマ字: kotoba wo nigosu
• 漢字の分解: 言 (koto) — words | 葉 (ba/ha) — leaf (words) | 濁 (nigo) — to muddy, to make turbid
• 発音: /ko.to.ba o ni.ɡo.sɯ/

意味

To speak evasively; to be deliberately vague; to equivocate rather than giving a clear answer.

An idiomatic expression combining 言葉 (words) and 濁す (to muddy, to make unclear). The image is of stirring up sediment so that the water — the meaning — becomes impossible to see through. Used when someone avoids committing to a direct statement, often to dodge responsibility or spare feelings. The negative form 言葉を濁さず (speaking without evasion) is equally common.

例文

1. 直接断るのが嫌で言葉を濁したせいで、相手に期待を持たせてしまった。
2. 記者の質問に言葉を濁す政治家の姿が、不信感を一層高めた。
3. 肝心な場面で言葉を濁さず、はっきりと意思を伝えることが大切だ。

使い方ガイド

場面: politics, interpersonal, business, social critique

トーン: negative

起源と歴史

濁す derives from 濁る (to become muddy, to become unclear). The metaphor of muddying one's words to obscure their meaning appears across East Asian literary traditions and remains vivid in contemporary Japanese usage.

文化的背景

時代: Classical–Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: General