Translation guide
Describes someone who is easily annoyed, irritable, or often in a bad mood. Japanese has many nuanced words for this, ranging from temporary grumpiness to a permanently disagreeable personality.
Describing a person who is often in a bad mood or quick to anger.
Describes someone who is hard to please, moody, or easily upset. Often used for a person with a prickly personality.
彼は気難しい人だ。
He is a bad-tempered person.
気難しい顔をしている。
He has a bad-tempered look on his face.
Means quick to anger, short-tempered. Emphasizes the tendency to get angry easily.
彼女は怒りっぽい性格だ。
She has a short-tempered personality.
Literally 'in a bad mood'. Used for a temporary state of being bad-tempered or grumpy.
今日は上司の機嫌が悪い。
The boss is bad-tempered today.
A noun or na-adjective meaning 'bad mood' or 'sullenness'. Often used to describe someone's demeanor.
彼は不機嫌そうに座っていた。
He was sitting there looking bad-tempered.
Means short-tempered, quick to anger. Often used as a noun or na-adjective.
短気は損気。
A short temper leads to loss. (proverb)
Describing a person whose default disposition is unfriendly, sour, or ill-natured.
Means mean-spirited, malicious, or deliberately unkind. Stronger than just bad-tempered; implies intent to hurt.
意地悪なことを言わないで。
Don't say bad-tempered things.
Literally 'one's nature is twisted'. Describes a fundamentally bad-tempered, warped personality.
あの人は根性が曲がっている。
That person is bad-tempered by nature.
Describing a temporary bad mood caused by physical factors like lack of sleep or food.
Also used for temporary grumpiness. Often combined with reasons like 寝不足 (lack of sleep) or 空腹 (hunger).
寝不足で不機嫌だ。
I'm bad-tempered from lack of sleep.
Commonly used for temporary states. Can be softened with ちょっと (a little).
お腹が空いて機嫌が悪い。
I'm hungry and bad-tempered.
Describing someone who takes offense quickly or is overly sensitive.
Literally 'short-spirited'. Means impatient and easily angered.
彼は気が短いから気をつけて。
He's bad-tempered, so be careful.
The English phrase 'bad-tempered' does not have a single direct equivalent. Using 悪い気性 (warui kishou) is unnatural. Choose a word based on whether the mood is temporary or permanent, and whether it involves anger, meanness, or just grumpiness.
機嫌が悪い (kigen ga warui) refers to a temporary bad mood, while 気難しい (kimuzukashii) describes a person's inherent difficult personality. Use 機嫌が悪い for 'He's bad-tempered today' and 気難しい for 'He's a bad-tempered person'.
Means nervous, high-strung, or touchy. Often implies being easily irritated by small things.
彼女は神経質で、すぐに怒る。
She is touchy and gets angry quickly.