臆病

• 読み: おくびょう
• ローマ字: okubyou
• 漢字の分解: 臆 (oku) — chest, to guess fearfully; 病 (byō) — illness, disease
• 発音: /o.kɯ.bʲoː/

意味

Cowardly; timid; easily frightened. Describes someone who lacks courage or is overly fearful.

A na-adjective and noun describing excessive fearfulness or lack of courage. Used to describe personality traits — 臆病な人 (a timid person), 臆病者 (a coward). While generally negative, it can sometimes be used self-deprecatingly or with sympathy. The related expression 臆病風に吹かれる means 'to get cold feet.'

例文

1. 臆病な性格を直したいと思っている。
2. 子供のころは犬が怖くて臆病だった。
3. 臆病にならず新しいことに挑戦しよう。

使い方ガイド

場面: personality, criticism, self-reflection, daily life

トーン: negative

起源と歴史

From Sino-Japanese 臆 (oku, chest/to conjecture fearfully) + 病 (byō, illness/disease). Literally 'the illness of fearfulness,' suggesting that cowardice is a condition that afflicts the mind.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal