訥弁

• 読み: とつべん
• ローマ字: totsuben
• 漢字の分解: 訥 (totsu) — halting, inarticulate; 弁 (ben) — speech, eloquence
• 発音: /tot.sɯ.ben/

意味

Halting or inarticulate speech; the quality of being a poor or slow speaker. Used to describe someone who struggles to express themselves fluently, often due to shyness, nerves, or limited facility with language.

A noun that serves as the antonym of 能弁 (eloquent) and contrasts with 多弁 (talkative). Like 寡黙 (taciturn), it describes a quieter communication style, but 訥弁 specifically focuses on the difficulty of verbal expression rather than simply choosing to say little. Despite its literal meaning, 訥弁 is sometimes used admiringly to describe someone whose halting speech conveys sincerity.

例文

1. 訥弁ながらも彼の言葉には誠実さがにじみ出ていた。
2. 訥弁な人ほど、話す言葉一つひとつに重みがある。
3. 訥弁で人前で話すのが苦手だったが、練習を重ねて克服した。

使い方ガイド

場面: character description, literary writing, social observation

トーン: neutral to sympathetic

起源と歴史

From 訥 (totsu — stuttering, halting) and 弁 (ben — speech, eloquence). The character 訥 depicts the difficulty of speech flow; combined with 弁, it specifically points to poor verbal performance.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal