厄やっ介かい

や

っ

か

い

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

Describes a person, situation, or thing that causes trouble, inconvenience, or extra work. Often used in the phrase 厄介な to mean 'troublesome' or 'a pain'.

このソフトは使つかい方かたが厄やっ介かいだ。
This software is troublesome to use.
彼かれはいつも厄やっ介かいな問もん題だいを持もち込こむ。
He always brings troublesome problems.

na-adjective, noun

care; dependence; obligation

Refers to being under someone's care or being a burden on them. Often used in the phrase お世話になる or 厄介になる to mean 'to be taken care of' or 'to stay with someone as a dependent'.

しばらく叔父おじの家いえに厄やっ介かいになることになった。
I ended up staying at my uncle's place for a while.
彼かれは親おやの厄やっ介かいになっている。
He is dependent on his parents.

See all 47 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉に厄やっ介かいをかけるto cause someone trouble
隣りん人じんに厄やっ介かいをかけてしまった。
I ended up causing trouble for my neighbor.
〈人ひと〉の厄やっ介かいになるto be taken care of by someone / become dependent on someone
大だい学がく生せいの間あいだ、叔父おじの厄やっ介かいになっていた。
While I was a university student, I was a dependent of my uncle's.
厄やっ介かいな〈事こと〉a troublesome matter/problem
厄やっ介かいな問もん題だいが持もち上あがった。
A troublesome problem came up.

Expressions

厄やっ介かいなことにthe trouble is ...; to make matters worse; troublingly

Kanji

厄unlucky, misfortune, bad luck
介jammed in, shellfish, mediate

Related words· 10

面めん倒どうN3sense 1
面倒 focuses on the hassle or effort something requires, while 厄介 emphasizes the burden or nuisance it creates.
世せ話わN4sense 2
世話 means being looked after, usually with a positive sense of help, while 厄介 in this sense implies being an unwelcome burden on someone.
煩わずらわしいN2sense 1
煩わしい describes something annoyingly bothersome to deal with, while 厄介 stresses that it imposes a real burden or trouble.
迷めい惑わくN3sense 1
迷惑 refers to inconvenience or trouble caused to another person, while 厄介 describes something troublesome in general, not necessarily harming someone else.

Show 6 more

ややこしいN1sense 1
ややこしい means 'complicated or confusing', while 厄介 means 'troublesome or burdensome', focusing on the trouble rather than the complexity.
悩なやましいN1
厄介 describes something bothersome in a practical, everyday sense, while 悩ましい (troubling sense) stresses the mental difficulty of resolving it.
手てがかかるN2
厄介 describes something troublesome or burdensome in general, while 手がかかる specifically means a person or task demands a lot of care and attention.
めんどい
面倒い is casual spoken slang for something being a hassle, while 厄介 is a more formal word for something troublesome or problematic.
手てに負おえないN1
手に負えない specifically means something cannot be controlled or managed, while 厄介 is a broader adjective for anything troublesome or bothersome, not necessarily uncontrollable.
煩はん雑ざつ
厄介 describes something troublesome or a nuisance in general, while 煩雑 specifically points to procedures or details being needlessly complicated.

Opposites

簡かん単たんN5sense 1
簡単 means 'simple or easy', the opposite of 厄介's sense of being troublesome or complicated to deal with.

Don't confuse with

厄やく
厄介 looks similar and shares the kanji 厄, but it means 'troublesome' or 'a bother', not 'misfortune' like 厄.

Word family

厄やっ介かい事ごと
troublesome matter; burden; hassle
厄やっ介かい物もの
nuisance; encumbrance; burden
厄やっ介かい者もの
burden; nuisance; troublemaker · hanger-on; dependent; parasite
荷に厄やっ介かい
burden; encumbrance; drag
厄やっ介かい払ばらい
driving off a troublesome person; getting rid of a nuisance

Written forms

厄やっ介かいUsage72%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency in news and general use.
やっかいUsage27%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing and when the kanji is considered difficult.
ヤッカイUsage<1%

Etymology

The kanji 厄 means 'misfortune' or 'calamity', and 介 means 'to mediate' or 'to be involved'. Together they originally referred to being entangled in trouble, which extended to the modern meanings of troublesome and being under someone's care as a burden.