Translation guide
The act of criticizing or pointing out mistakes, often in a petty or overly critical way. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through various verbs, nouns, and set phrases that range from mild complaint to harsh criticism.
He is always finding fault with others.
Idiom meaning to seize on someone's slip of the tongue or minor mistake to criticize them. Implies a nitpicking, often unfair, fault-finding.
She is always finding fault with what I say.
To find fault unreasonably; to make an unfair criticism or trumped-up charge. Stronger than あら探し.
My boss finds fault with every little thing I do.
To blame, find fault with, or reproach someone for a wrongdoing. Can be used for moral or social transgressions.
He found fault with me for being late.
Noun form of あら探しをする. Can be used as 'fault-finding' as a concept.
His fault-finding makes others uncomfortable.
To express dissatisfaction by pointing out faults, often in a whining or persistent manner.
To complain; to find fault verbally. Very common and versatile.
He always finds fault with the food.
To grumble or complain, often about trivial things. Implies a whining tone.
To scold or nag; to find fault in a lecturing way, often from a superior or parent.
To scrutinize something carefully to find errors or defects, often in a formal or systematic way.
あら探し is a general term for looking for flaws, while 揚げ足を取る specifically refers to seizing on a verbal slip or minor mistake to criticize. The latter often carries a more negative, nitpicking nuance.
Don't just find fault; look at the good points too.
He found fault with my slip of the tongue.
Directly translating 'finding fault' as 欠点を見つけている may sound unnatural in many contexts. Use the idiomatic expressions above for more natural Japanese.
She is always finding fault with her salary.
My mother finds fault with my clothes.
He severely found fault with the new policy.