文章をいじる

• Reading: ぶんしょうをいじる
• Romaji: bunshou wo ijiru
• Kanji breakdown: 文 (bun/mon) — writing, sentence, text; 章 (shou) — chapter, composition, badge
• Pronunciation: /bɯɴ.ɕoː.o.i.dʑi.ɾɯ/

Meaning

To tinker with a sentence; to edit or tweak text. Refers to making small changes or adjustments to written content.

A colloquial expression combining 文章 (text, writing) and いじる (to fiddle with, to tinker). いじる implies casual or small-scale modifications rather than a complete rewrite. Used by writers, editors, students, and anyone working on documents when making adjustments to improve wording or flow.

Examples

1. 提出前にもう少し文章をいじりたい。 I want to tinker with the text a little more before submitting it.
2. 先生に言われて文章をいじったら良くなった。 After tweaking the text as my teacher suggested, it got better.
3. 何度も文章をいじっているうちに元より悪くなった。 After tinkering with the text over and over, it ended up worse than the original.

Usage Guide

Context: writing, editing, academic

Tone: casual

Origin & History

Combination of Sino-Japanese 文章 (writing, text) and native Japanese いじる (to fiddle with, tamper). いじる originally meant to touch or handle something repeatedly, giving the phrase a casual, hands-on nuance.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal