めったに

• 読み: めったに
• ローマ字: mettani
• 漢字の分解: 滅 (metsu) — destroy, perish; 多 (ta) — many (kanji form 滅多に is rarely used)
• 発音: /met.ta.ni/

意味

Rarely; seldom. Almost always used with negative verbs to mean 'hardly ever.'

An adverb that is nearly always followed by a negative form: めったに～ない (rarely does ~). Common patterns: めったに会えない (can rarely meet), めったにない機会 (a rare opportunity). Without the negative, めったな is used as an adjective meaning 'reckless' or 'careless,' but this usage is uncommon.

例文

1. 彼はめったに怒らない穏やかな人だ。
2. こんなチャンスはめったにないよ。
3. 最近はめったに映画を見に行かなくなった。

使い方ガイド

場面: conversation, writing, daily life

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

Written in kanji as 滅多に, from 滅多 (metta, reckless/thoughtless). Originally meant 'without careful thought' and evolved to mean 'not often' when combined with negation — events that occur without careful planning are rare.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal