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ご機嫌取り (ごきげんとり) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

ご機き嫌げん取とり

ご

き

げ

ん

と

り

Meanings

1

noun

currying favor; sucking up; being anxious to please

Refers to the act of trying to win someone's favor, often with a negative connotation of insincere flattery or excessive eagerness to please.

See also: 機嫌取り

彼かれは上じょう司しにご機き嫌げん取とりばかりしている。
He's always sucking up to his boss.
ご

機き

嫌げん

取と

り

の

つもり

で

言い

っ

た

の

に

、

逆ぎゃく

に

怒おこ

ら

せ

て

しまっ

た

。

I said it to get on their good side, but it ended up making them angry instead.

2

noun

bootlicker; sycophant; flatterer

Used to refer to a person who habitually curries favor; often derogatory.

See also: 機嫌取り

あいつはただのご機き嫌げん取とりだ。
That guy is just a bootlicker.

Written forms

ご機き嫌げん取とり
Standard polite spelling with ご prefix.
御ご機き嫌げん取とり
Formal kanji spelling using 御 for the honorific prefix; less common in everyday writing.

Kanji

機loom, mechanism, machine
嫌dislike, detest, hate
取take, fetch, take up
御honorable, manipulate, govern

Similar words

機き嫌げん取とり
Same meaning without the honorific ご prefix; slightly less polite and more direct.
お世せ辞じ
Refers to flattery or compliments, often insincere, but not necessarily the act of currying favor.
ごますり
Colloquial term for brown-nosing or sucking up, more casual and often used in workplace contexts.

Etymology

Compound of ご (honorific prefix) + 機嫌 (mood, humor) + 取り (taking, from 取る). Literally 'taking someone's mood', i.e., trying to put someone in a good mood to gain favor.