Translation guide
Describes someone unwilling to spend money or share resources, often in a negative way. Japanese has many colorful terms ranging from mild to harsh.
A person who is generally unwilling to spend money or share, often in a petty way.
The most common and versatile word for a stingy person. Can be used as a noun or na-adjective. Mildly negative.
彼は本当にけちだ。
He's really stingy.
That stingy person hesitated to pay again.
A slightly more childish or playful term for a stingy person. Often used in casual speech.
Stingy! Share your snacks.
Literally 'money-guarding slave'. A harsh, literary term for a miser. Strongly negative.
He hoards money like a miser.
Someone who is excessively careful with small amounts of money, often annoying others.
Uses the adjective せこい (petty, stingy) to describe a person. Very common in casual speech.
That cheapskate always insists on splitting the bill down to the last yen.
A noun meaning a stingy, miserly person. Often used in Kansai dialect but understood nationwide. Slightly rough.
A formal, literary term for a miser. Rarely used in conversation.
Someone who is unwilling to share things or do favors, not necessarily about money.
がめつい means greedy or grasping, often for material things. Used for someone who always wants more and shares little.
Greedy people lose friends.
Primarily means greedy, but can imply stinginess when someone takes more than their share and gives nothing back.
けち is the standard word for stingy and can be used in most situations. せこい is more colloquial and implies pettiness or cheapness in a more annoying way. せこい can also mean 'lame' or 'uncool' in some contexts.
a stingy person (neutral description)
a cheapskate (more negative, casual)
Words like 吝嗇 (りんしょく) are too formal and rarely used in daily conversation. Stick to けち or せこい for natural speech.
There's no way that cheapskate would treat us.
彼は有名な吝嗇家として知られている。
He is known as a famous miser.
That greedy person used it all for themselves.