図々しい

• 読み: ずうずうしい
• ローマ字: zuuzuushii
• 漢字の分解: 図 (zu/to) — diagram, plan (used phonetically here)
• 発音: /zɯ.zɯ.ɕiː/

意味

Impudent; shameless; brazen; cheeky. Describes a person who acts without a sense of shame or social restraint, pushing forward with self-interest in a bold, audacious manner.

An i-adjective with strongly negative connotations. Often describes behaviour that violates social norms—asking for too much, refusing to apologise when expected, or acting entitled. Closely related to 厚かましい but more emphatic; 図々しい implies a near-total absence of shame. Frequently appears in constructions such as 図々しくも (brazenly; with the nerve to) and 図々しいやつ (what a nerve).

例文

1. 断られても断られても図々しく頼み続ける彼の姿に、周囲は呆れ返った。
2. あの人は他人の家に上がり込んで夕食まで食べていくとは、本当に図々しい。
3. 図々しいお願いとは知りながら、もう一度チャンスをいただけないでしょうか。

使い方ガイド

場面: social behaviour, criticism, interpersonal relations

トーン: negative

起源と歴史

The kanji 図 here is used phonetically for its reading ず rather than its meaning 'diagram.' The reduplication 図々 intensifies the quality, and しい forms the i-adjective. The word has been in common use since at least the Edo period to describe shameless behaviour.

文化的背景

時代: Edo–Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal