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寝覚めの悪い (ねざめのわるい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

寝ね覚ざめの悪わるい

Meanings

1

i-adjective

uneasy conscience; guilty feeling

Describes a lingering sense of guilt or moral discomfort, often after doing something wrong. Frequently used in the phrase 寝覚めが悪い (literally 'waking up feeling bad'), but the の form is also common as a prenominal modifier.

See also: 寝覚めが悪い

彼かれは寝ね覚ざめの悪わるい思おもいを抱かかえていた。
He was troubled by an uneasy conscience.

そんなことをして寝ね覚ざめの悪わるい気き分ぶんになった。

I felt guilty after doing such a thing.

Kanji

寝lie down, sleep, rest
覚memorize, learn, remember
悪bad, vice, rascal

Similar words

寝ね覚ざめが悪わるい
The が form is the more common predicative expression ('to have an uneasy conscience'), while 寝覚めの悪い is its attributive form used before nouns.

Etymology

Compound of 寝覚め (nezame, 'waking up') + の (attributive particle) + 悪い (warui, 'bad'). The expression originally referred to waking up feeling bad due to a guilty conscience, and by extension came to describe a guilty or uneasy feeling in general.