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きちがい Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word JLPT N1 Freq. Frequency Top 10,000 Meanings 1
noun
madness ; insanity ; crazy person ; lunatic
sensitive derogatory usually written using kana alone
Derogatory and highly sensitive term for mental illness or a person perceived as insane. Strongly offensive; avoid in polite conversation. Often used hyperbolically or as an insult.
きちがい
じみ
て
いる
。
Saying something like that is crazy (literally: seems like madness).
2
noun, noun, used as a suffix
mania ; craze ; obsession ; enthusiast ; fanatic
sensitive usually written using kana alone
Used as a suffix or standalone noun to indicate an extreme obsession or enthusiast. Often derogatory or self-deprecating, e.g., 釣りきちがい (fishing nut). Less sensitive than sense 1 but still informal and potentially offensive.
Written forms きちがい Usage 10%
Hiragana spelling is standard and preferred, especially given the word's sensitive and derogatory status.
気き 違ちが い Usage 39%
Kanji spelling; now largely replaced by kana due to sensitivity and the word's derogatory nature. It is high priority, but modern usage strongly favors kana.
気狂きちが い Usage 21%
Alternate kanji spelling; less common than 気違い.
キチガイ Usage 16%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling; often used for emphasis or in informal writing. This is a priority reading.
気き ちがい Usage 14%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji form; not a standard spelling.
基き 地ち 外がい
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji usage; a non-standard phonetic substitution. Included for search coverage only.
既き 知ち 外がい
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji usage; a non-standard phonetic substitution. Included for search coverage only.
Similar words 狂きょう 人じん More formal and literary term for a madman or lunatic; less colloquial and less commonly used as an insult than きちがい.
マニア Loanword from English 'mania'; neutral and widely used for enthusiasts (e.g., 鉄道マニア). Unlike きちがい, it lacks derogatory overtones.
Etymology Compound of 気 (ki, 'mind, spirit') and 違い (chigai, 'difference, divergence'), literally 'mental divergence'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term has long been used pejoratively.
fundamentals, radical (chem), counter for machines
既 previously, already, long ago