くしゃくしゃ

く

しゃ

く

しゃ

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

くしゃくしゃする · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

Meanings

noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', na-adjective, adverb, adverb taking the 'to' particle

Describes paper, cloth, hair, etc. that is crushed, wrinkled, or in a messy, disheveled state. Often used with なる or する.

Describes a mental state of irritation or frustration, often with する. The image is of one's feelings being crumpled.

Mimetic for the sound of chewing noisily or crunching. Often used with 噛む.

〈物もの〉がくしゃくしゃになるfor something (paper, cloth, hair) to become crumpled or wrinkled
ポケットに入いれておいた手て紙がみがくしゃくしゃになった。
The letter I had put in my pocket got all crumpled.
気き持もちがくしゃくしゃするto feel annoyed or emotionally frazzled
仕し事ごとがうまくいかなくて、気き持もちがくしゃくしゃする。
My work isn't going well and I feel all irritated inside.
〈物もの〉をくしゃくしゃ食たべるto eat something with a loud crunching or munching sound
彼かれはポテトチップスをくしゃくしゃ食たべていた。
He was crunching noisily on potato chips.
〈物もの〉をくしゃくしゃにするto crumple or scrunch something up
彼かれは書かいた紙かみをくしゃくしゃにしてゴミ箱ばこに投なげた。
He crumpled up the paper he had written on and threw it in the trash.

ぐしゃぐしゃ sense 1
くしゃくしゃ describes dry crumpling or messiness, while ぐしゃぐしゃ often implies a wet, mushy, or squashed state.
イライラN3sense 2
イライラ is the common everyday word for feeling irritated, while くしゃくしゃ in this sense is a less frequent, more literary mimetic expression for the same frustration.

むしゃくしゃ sense 2
むしゃくしゃ sounds similar to くしゃくしゃ and also means annoyed or frustrated, but むしゃくしゃ only refers to emotional irritation, never to physical crumpling like くしゃくしゃ can.

くしゃくしゃUsage82%
Standard hiragana spelling for this mimetic word.
クシャクシャUsage18%
Katakana variant sometimes used for emphasis or in informal writing.

Mimetic word; the exact origin is uncertain, but the reduplicated form suggests a sound-symbolic representation of crumpling or rustling.