Ways to say "tends to"
がち is the everyday "tends to" for a habit you'd rather not have, and the one to start with. Other forms call the habit a fault, or don't judge it at all. 気味, a slight state now, and っぽい, what a person or thing is like, get mixed up with がち, but neither says something keeps happening.
| Form | What it says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| がち | It keeps happening, and mostly you'd rather it didn't | Everyday |
| 気味 | A touch of something, now or lately | Everyday: health, reports at work |
| っぽい | "-ish": childish, grown-up, blackish. After a few verbs, "quick to" | Conversation and casual writing |
| ことが多い | It often happens: a plain statement | Everyday |
| 傾向がある | What a survey or the figures show, with no judgment | News, reports, research |
| きらいがある | A habit you count as a fault | Editorials, reviews, essays |
がち: it keeps happening
Full pageがちN3
がち says that something often happens, or easily ends up happening: forgetting, running late, being ill. It is about what goes on over time, not one occasion. It follows a verb stem, or one of a few nouns, and it works for trains and the weather as well as people.
I tend to get ill at this time of year.
ありがちcommon, all too familiar
This is a common mistake among beginners.
なりがちtends to get, tends to become
Just before a deadline, work tends to get sloppy.
留守がちoften out, away a lot
My father travels a lot for work, so he is often away.
曇りがちmostly cloudy
Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy.
気味: a touch of something
Full page気味N3
気味 is a touch of something, now or lately: a little tired, running a little late, a cold coming on. It is usually something you'd rather not have, and it goes mostly with set words for how your body feels or how things are going.
風邪気味a bit of a cold
I've had a bit of a cold these past few days, and my voice won't come out properly.
疲れ気味a little tired
My eyes have been a little tired lately, so I'm cutting down on screen time.
太り気味a little overweight
I've been putting on a little weight lately, so I'm cutting back on late-night snacks.
不足気味running a little short
Our stock of parts is running a little low at the moment.
気味 or がち?
The same verb can take either form, and the meaning changes.
The trains have been running a little late recently.
How things are lately: a little late.
Trains tend to run late on rainy days.
What happens again and again.
風邪気味 is a cold coming on. 病気がち describes someone who is often ill.
っぽい: -ish, and quick to
Full pageっぽいN3
っぽい is a casual "-ish": like a child, like an adult, blackish. Often it criticises. 子どもっぽい is mostly said of someone who isn't a child: they are too old to act that way. 大人っぽい praises someone young. After a handful of verbs it is "quick to".
大人っぽいgrown-up for your age
You look grown-up in that outfit.
黒っぽいblackish, dark
He was wearing a dark jacket.
A color carries no judgment.
熱っぽいfeverish
I feel a little feverish today, so I'm going to bed early.
What people say when they feel a slight fever; for a slight cold it is 風邪気味.
怒りっぽいquick-tempered
My older brother is quick-tempered, but he soon gets over it.
忘れがち or 忘れっぽい?
がち is about what keeps happening. っぽい is about the person.
My father tends to forget to take his medicine.
The same slip, again and again.
My father is forgetful.
What he is like, by nature. Casual.
Where it goes wrong
English says "a bit expensive" as easily as "a bit tired". 気味 only follows a noun or a verb stem, not an adjective.
Not said: このかばんは
(This bag is a bit expensive.)
Just 少し高い, or 高め.
めN3
Goes on an い-adjective of size, amount or degree: "on the … side".
This bag is a little on the expensive side.
English "tends to" suits any habit. がち makes a good one sound like a problem. For a habit with nothing wrong in it, people say ことが多い, "often".
Sounds odd: 彼女は
She tends to get good marks in tests.
いい点を取ることが多い.
ことが多いN3
"Often", where ことがある is "sometimes". The habit can be good or bad.
On weekends I often watch a movie at home.
傾向がある: what the figures show
Full page傾向があるN2
傾向がある is "tends to" as a finding: what a survey, the figures or long observation show about many cases. It reports without praise or blame, and you meet it in news, reports and research.
A nationwide survey shows that younger people tend to avoid paper application forms.
This town's population is on the decline.
傾向にある means the same as 傾向がある, and is the usual form for the way figures are moving.
傾向がある, ことが多い or がち?
About a friend, or about yourself, 傾向がある sounds like a report. In conversation people say ことが多い or がち. All three can be said of the same man.
The records show that the busier he is, the more he tends to skip meals.
A report: someone is going through his records.
When he's busy, he often skips meals.
Only says that it often happens.
When he's busy, he tends to skip meals.
Said by a friend who worries about him.
きらいがある: a tendency that is a fault
きらいがある is "tends to" said as criticism: someone keeps doing something you think is a fault. You read it in editorials, reviews and essays. きらい is written in kana, and here it doesn't mean "dislike". In conversation people say がち for what keeps happening, or ところがある for what someone is like. がち can't follow a negative or an adjective; ところがある can.
He has a tendency not to hear people out.
Written, or said in a measured voice at a meeting.
He has a way of not hearing people out.
What you'd say to a colleague over lunch.
Another "tends to": やすい
やすいN4
A quality of the person or thing: it happens easily. A glass that is 壊れやすい, one that breaks easily, may never have broken. がち is for what does keep happening.
Roads tend to be slippery on rainy days.