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ざんない Japanese meaning | Kotomora

ざんない

Meanings

1

i-adjective

painful to watch; pitiful; pathetic

usually written using kana alone

Osaka dialect adjective describing something or someone so pitiful or embarrassing that it is painful to watch. Often used in casual, spoken Kansai-ben.

あの漫まん才ざい、ざんないわ。
That comedy duo is painful to watch.
彼かれの歌うた、ほんまにざんないなあ。
His singing is really pitiful.

Kanji

慚feel ashamed
無nothingness, none, ain't

Similar words

みっともない
Standard Japanese adjective meaning 'shameful' or 'unsightly'. ざんない is a dialectal equivalent with a stronger nuance of second-hand embarrassment.
いたたまれない
Standard Japanese expression for feeling so embarrassed or uncomfortable that one cannot stay. ざんない focuses more on the pitiful quality of the observed subject.

Etymology

Osaka dialect word. The exact derivation is uncertain, but it may be related to the standard Japanese word ざんねん (残念, 'regrettable') or a contraction of 慚愧に堪えない (ざんきにたえない, 'unbearably ashamed').