けちん坊ぼう

also: けちんぼ

け

ち

ん

ぼ

う

Meanings

noun, na-adjective

miser; cheapskate; skinflint

usually written using kana alone

A derogatory term for a stingy person who hates spending money. Often used in casual or critical contexts. Can also be used as a na-adjective (e.g., けちん坊な人).

彼かれは本ほん当とうにけちん坊ぼうで、友とも達だちにコーヒーすらおごらない。
He's such a cheapskate; he won't even treat his friends to a coffee.
そんなけちん坊ぼうなこと言いわないで、少すこしは寄き付ふしたら？
Don't be so stingy; why not donate a little?

See all 6 example sentences ›

Kanji

坊boy, priest's residence, priest
吝miserly, stingy, sparing
嗇miserly, stingy, sparing

Related words

ケチN3
けちんぼ is a childish, teasing term for a miser, whereas ケチ is neutral and usable in any register.

Written forms

けちん坊ぼうUsage38%
Common kanji-kana mixed spelling. The kanji 坊 is a suffix for people, often with a derogatory or familiar nuance.
けちんぼUsage50%
kana-only spelling
Shortened colloquial variant. Common in casual speech.
けちんぼうUsage13%
Kana spelling is common and; usually written in kana.
吝嗇けちん坊ぼう
Rare ateji spelling using 吝嗇 (miserly). Not commonly used; learners should recognize it but use けちん坊 or kana.
ケチンボ
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling of the shortened form, often used for emphasis or in informal writing.

Etymology

Derived from けち (stingy) + ん坊 (suffix for a person with a certain trait, often derogatory). The ん is a euphonic insertion. The kanji 吝嗇 is ateji for けち, and 坊 means 'boy' or 'fellow'.