むら気き

む

ら

き

Meanings

uneven temper; capriciousness; whimsicality

Describes a personality or mood that changes unpredictably; often used for someone who is moody, temperamental, or acts on a whim. Can be used as a noun or na-adjective.

彼かれはむら気きで、急きゅうに機き嫌げんが悪わるくなることがある。
He is capricious and sometimes suddenly gets into a bad mood.
むら気きな性せい格かくのせいで、周まわりは振ふり回まわされる。
Because of his whimsical personality, those around him are at his mercy.

See all 4 example sentences ›

Kanji

気spirit, mind, air
斑spot, blemish, speck

Related words

気きまぐれ
気まぐれ also means whim or caprice, but often implies a more light-hearted, spontaneous change, while むら気 emphasizes unevenness of temper or moodiness.
移うつり気ぎ
移り気 refers to fickleness or changeability in interests or affections, whereas むら気 focuses on temperamental unevenness.

Written forms

むら気Usage100%
- むらき
  Standard mixed kanji-kana spelling. The kanji 気 is common, while むら is usually written in kana.
- むらぎ
ムラ気
- むらき
  Katakana variant of the first part, sometimes used for emphasis or stylistic reasons.
- むらぎ
斑気
- むらき
  Full kanji spelling using 斑 (uneven, spotted). Rare and may be unfamiliar to many readers.
- むらぎ
むらぎ

Etymology

むら (斑) means 'uneven' or 'spotted', and 気 (き) means 'spirit' or 'temper'. The combination literally suggests an uneven disposition. The reading むらぎ is a voiced variant, but むらき is more common.