Translation guide
The English verb "aggravate" has two main meanings: to make a situation or condition worse, and to annoy or irritate someone. This guide covers natural Japanese expressions for both.
Smoking aggravates the symptoms.
His remarks aggravated the situation.
Intransitive, meaning 'to get worse'. Use when the subject itself deteriorates, not when someone actively makes it worse.
This is intransitive. To say 'X aggravates Y', use 悪化させる or 悪くする.
The weather got worse.
Transitive, meaning 'to make worse'. More casual than 悪化させる.
Stress aggravates skin conditions.
Specifically for making an illness worse through neglect or improper care, like letting a cold turn into something serious.
I aggravated my cold and it turned into pneumonia.
To make someone feel annoyed, angry, or frustrated.
Commonly used for causing irritation or frustration. Often used for ongoing annoyance.
His attitude aggravates me.
Traffic jams really aggravate me.
Means 'to make angry'. Stronger than イライラさせる, implying actual anger rather than just irritation.
Slangy, meaning to piss off or really irritate. Common in casual speech.
The way he talks aggravates me.
Means to tease or keep someone in suspense in an annoying way. Not a general 'aggravate'.
In English, you might say 'aggravate an old injury'. In Japanese, use ぶり返す (ぶりかえす) for a recurring injury or pain, or 悪化させる for worsening a condition. ぶり返す is intransitive and often used for symptoms that return.
My old injury flared up again.
悪化させる is transitive and formal, suitable for written or serious contexts. 悪くする is its casual transitive counterpart. 悪くなる is intransitive and means 'to become worse'. Choose based on whether someone/something is actively making it worse or it's happening on its own.
His joke aggravated her.
彼は答えを教えずに私をじらした。
He aggravated me by not telling me the answer.