足あしが地ちに着つかない

Meanings

losing oneself; on top of the world; walking on air; frivolous

Idiomatic expression describing a state of being so excited, happy, or distracted that one feels ungrounded or not thinking clearly; can be positive (elated) or negative (frivolous, not serious).

彼かれは合ごう格かくの知しらせに足あしが地ちに着つかない様よう子すだった。
He seemed to be walking on air after hearing the news of his acceptance.
浮うかれて足あしが地ちに着つかないと、失しっ敗ぱいしやすい。
If you get carried away and lose your grounding, you're likely to make mistakes.

Kanji

足leg, foot, be sufficient
地ground, earth
着don, arrive, wear
付adhere, attach, refer to

Related words

浮うかれる
浮かれる means to be in high spirits or merry, often in a lighthearted, festive way. 足が地に着かない emphasizes the loss of groundedness or seriousness, which can result from such elation.

Written forms

足あしが地ちに着つかない
Standard kanji spelling using 着く; the most common written form.
足あしが地ちに付つかない
Variant using 付く; less common but still encountered.
足あしが地ちにつかない
Kana spelling of the verb part; often used in casual writing.

Etymology

Literally 'one's feet do not touch the ground'; a metaphorical idiom for being ungrounded or carried away by emotion. The exact origin is uncertain, but it likely derives from the physical sensation of lightness when extremely happy or distracted.