ぎこちない

also: ぎごちない

ぎ

こ

ち

な

い

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

ぎこちない · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	ぎこちない	ぎこちなくない
Polite	ぎこちないです	ぎこちなくないですalso ぎこちなくありません
Past polite	ぎこちなかったです	ぎこちなくなかったですalso ぎこちなくありませんでした
Past	ぎこちなかった	ぎこちなくなかった
Te-form	ぎこちなくて	ぎこちなくなくて
Adverbial	ぎこちなく
Conditional	ぎこちなければ	ぎこちなくなければ
Tara conditional	ぎこちなかったら	ぎこちなくなかったら

Meanings

i-adjective

awkward; clumsy; stiff

Describes movements, speech, or social behavior that lack smoothness or natural ease. Often implies a lack of practice or self-consciousness.

彼かれはまだ新しん人じんなので、仕し事ごとの手てつきがぎこちない。
He's still new, so his work movements are awkward.
初はじめてのデートで、会かい話わがぎこちなくなってしまった。
On our first date, the conversation became stiff.

See all 36 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉の動うごきがぎこちないsomeone's movements are awkward/stiff
彼かれはまだ新あたらしい靴くつに慣なれておらず、動うごきがぎこちない。
He isn't used to his new shoes yet, so his movements are stiff.
ぎこちなく〈動どう詞し〉to do something in an awkward, stiff way
彼かの女じょはぎこちなく笑わらいながら手てを振ふった。
She waved while smiling awkwardly.
ぎこちない笑えみa strained, awkward smile
彼かれはぎこちない笑えみを浮うかべて挨あい拶さつした。
He greeted her with an awkward smile.
〈人ひと〉との関かん係けいがぎこちないone's relationship with someone feels strained/awkward
あの日ひ以い来らい、彼かれとの関かん係けいがぎこちない。
Ever since that day, things between him and me have felt strained.

Related words

不ぶ器き用ようN3
不器用 describes a person's general lack of manual dexterity or clumsiness as a trait, while ぎこちない describes the stiff, unnatural quality of a specific action or interaction.
たどたどしい
たどたどしい is used for speech or movement that is halting and unsteady from inexperience or nervousness, while ぎこちない more broadly describes any stiff, unnatural manner.
ぎくしゃくN1
ぎこちない is an い-adjective describing a person's awkward manner or skill, while ぎくしゃく is an adverb/する-verb focusing on the jerky, unsmooth quality of movements or interactions themselves.
不ふ自し然ぜんN3
ぎこちない describes clumsy, stiff movement or manner, while 不自然 covers a wider range of things—behavior, speech, or situations—that simply seem off.

Opposites

自し然ぜんN4
自然 describes movements or behavior that flow smoothly and naturally, the opposite of the stiff, forced quality captured by ぎこちない.

Don't confuse with

気きまずいN2
気まずい describes an uncomfortable, tense mood or feeling between people, whereas ぎこちない describes physically or verbally stiff, awkward behavior itself.

Written forms

ぎこちないUsage78%
Standard kana spelling; no kanji form exists.
ぎごちないUsage22%
Rare voiced variant; ぎこちない is overwhelmingly more common.

Etymology

The exact derivation is uncertain. It may be related to the mimetic root ぎこぎこ (stiff, creaking) combined with the adjectival suffix ない, but this is not firmly established.