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虫の居所が悪い (むしのいどころがわるい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
expression, i-adjective
irritable ; in a bad mood ; cranky
Idiomatic expression describing someone's foul mood, as if a bug inside them is unsettled. Often used when someone is touchy or easily angered for no clear reason.
居い
所どころ
が
悪わる
い
とき
に
話はな
しかける
と
、
怒おこ
ら
れる
か
も
しれ
ない
。
If you talk to him when he's irritable, you might get yelled at.
Similar words 機き 嫌げん が 悪わる い A more direct and common way to say 'in a bad mood', without the idiomatic imagery of 虫の居所が悪い.
腹はら が 立た つ Means 'to get angry' or 'to be offended', focusing on the feeling of anger rather than a general irritable mood.
Etymology The expression literally means 'the bug's whereabouts are bad', reflecting an old folk belief that a person's mood is influenced by an insect residing in the body. The exact origin is uncertain, but it has been used idiomatically since at least the Edo period.
