いぶかしい

• Reading: いぶかしい
• Romaji: ibukashii
• Pronunciation: /i.bɯ.ka.ɕiː/

Meaning

Suspicious; dubious; puzzling; questionable. Describes a feeling of unease or doubt about something that does not add up.

An i-adjective expressing genuine perplexity mixed with suspicion — not merely moral doubt but an intellectual puzzlement about something inconsistent or inexplicable. Often appears in the adverbial form いぶかしげに (with a puzzled, suspicious look). Common in literary narration to describe a character's dawning sense that something is wrong.

Examples

1. 彼の言い訳はどこかいぶかしく、納得できなかった。 His excuse struck me as somehow off, and I could not accept it.
2. 深夜に見知らぬ人が何度も家の前を歩くのをいぶかしく思っていた。 I had been puzzled to see an unfamiliar person walking past the house repeatedly late at night.
3. いぶかしげな表情で彼女は私の話を聞いていた。 She listened to what I had to say with a visibly puzzled, suspicious expression.

Usage Guide

Context: literature, mystery, interpersonal, narrative

Tone: suspicious

Origin & History

From いぶかる (ibukaru — to feel suspicious, to wonder at something unaccountable) + しい (adjective suffix). いぶかる itself derives from いぶき (breath, impulse) — the sense of a held breath of uncertainty or wariness.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical-Modern

Generation: Adult

Social background: Educated