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きまり悪い (きまりわるい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
JLPT N1 › Conjugation きまり悪い · i-adjective
Form Positive Negative Dictionary きまり 悪わる い きまり 悪わる くない Polite きまり 悪わる いです きまり 悪わる くないです also きまり 悪わる くありません Past polite きまり 悪わる かったです きまり 悪わる くなかったです also きまり 悪わる くありませんでした Past きまり 悪わる かった きまり 悪わる くなかった Te-form きまり 悪わる くて きまり 悪わる くなくて Adverbial きまり 悪わる く Conditional きまり 悪わる ければ きまり 悪わる くなければ Tara conditional きまり 悪わる かったら きまり 悪わる くなかったら
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I tripped in front of everyone and felt embarrassed.
Usage patterns きまり 悪わる そうに 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 to do something looking embarrassed
He laughed, looking embarrassed.
〈 人ひと 〉 の 前まえ できまり 悪わる い to feel embarrassed in front of someone
I felt embarrassed in front of everyone.
きまり 悪わる くなる to become embarrassed
I became embarrassed when I noticed the mistake.
Kanji 極 extreme, pole, extremely Related words 恥ずかしい is the general word for embarrassed or shy, while きまり悪い specifically points to the awkwardness felt after a social blunder or uncomfortable situation.
気恥ずかしい describes a milder, often self-conscious kind of shyness, whereas きまり悪い implies a more situational awkwardness, like being caught in a blunder.
照れくさい conveys bashfulness or shyness from being praised or teased, while きまり悪い is about the discomfort of an awkward social moment.
決まりが悪い is the same meaning expressed as a clause rather than a single adjective, while きまり悪い is the more compact, casual adjective form.
Written forms きまり 悪わる い Usage 78%
Most common spelling; uses kana for the first part and kanji for 悪い.
決き まり 悪わる い Usage 22%
Kanji spelling for きまり; less common but still seen.
極き まり 悪わる い
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form using 極; it is rarely used.
Etymology Derived from the phrase 決まりが悪い (kimari ga warui), literally 'the settlement/decision is bad', which came to mean feeling awkward or embarrassed. The contracted form きまり悪い is now a standalone adjective.