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きまり悪い (きまりわるい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
i-adjective
embarrassed ; ashamed ; feeling awkward
Describes the feeling of embarrassment or awkwardness, often due to a social blunder or an uncomfortable situation. Similar to 決まりが悪い, but used as a single adjective.
See also: 決まりが悪い
He looked down, seeming embarrassed.
Written forms きまり 悪わる い Usage 78%
Most common spelling; uses kana for the first part and kanji for 悪い.
決き まり 悪わる い Usage 22%
Kanji spelling for きまり; less common but still seen.
極き まり 悪わる い
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form using 極; it is rarely used.
Kanji 極 extreme, pole, extremely Similar words 決き まりが 悪わる い A phrase with the same meaning, but grammatically a clause rather than a single adjective. きまり悪い is more compact and commonly used in casual speech.
恥は ずかしい More general term for 'embarrassed' or 'shy'. きまり悪い specifically implies awkwardness from a situation, while 恥ずかしい can also refer to shyness or shame.
Etymology Derived from the phrase 決まりが悪い (kimari ga warui), literally 'the settlement/decision is bad', which came to mean feeling awkward or embarrassed. The contracted form きまり悪い is now a standalone adjective.
