Translation guide
A person who is unwilling to spend money, often to an annoying or excessive degree. Japanese has several colorful terms for this, ranging from mild to harsh.
Describing someone who is generally stingy or reluctant to spend money.
The most common and versatile word for a stingy person. Can be used as a noun or adjective.
彼は本当にケチだ。
He's a real cheapskate.
Don't be such a cheapskate.
A formal, literary term for a miser or stingy person. Rarely used in everyday conversation.
He is a notorious miser.
Emphasizing small-minded stinginess, like splitting bills to the last yen or never treating others.
Slangy adjective meaning cheap, petty, or small-minded. Often used for someone who is stingy in trivial matters.
It's so petty to split the bill down to the last yen.
Means shabby, stingy, or miserly. Conveys a sense of being cheap and ungenerous in a way that feels small and pathetic.
Someone who hoards money and refuses to spend it, even on necessities.
Specifically someone who never pays for others, always expects others to pay, or avoids contributing.
ケチ is the general term for stingy. セコい emphasizes pettiness and is slangy. みみっちい suggests shabbiness and a lack of generosity that feels pathetic. Use ケチ for most situations; セコい for trivial cheapness; みみっちい for miserly behavior that seems sad.
English 'cheapskate' does not have a single perfect equivalent. Avoid directly translating the word; instead, describe the behavior using the options above. Using ケチ is the safest and most common choice.
Don't be such a cheapskate! Just buy the good one.
He's a cheapskate who never tips.
Even though he has a good salary, he always eats at cheap, shabby places.
He's a money-obsessed miser who won't even spend on his family.
She's a bill-splitting fanatic; even on dates she insists on going Dutch.