Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
卑しい (いやしい, iyashii) Japanese meaning: greedy | Kotomora
Common word› JLPT N1 › Freq. Frequency Top 50,000 Conjugation 卑しい · i-adjective
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 卑いや しい 卑いや しくない Polite 卑いや しいです 卑いや しくないです also 卑いや しくありません Past polite 卑いや しかったです 卑いや しくなかったです also 卑いや しくありませんでした Past 卑いや しかった 卑いや しくなかった Te-form 卑いや しくて 卑いや しくなくて Adverbial 卑いや しく Conditional 卑いや しければ 卑いや しくなければ Tara conditional 卑いや しかったら 卑いや しくなかったら
じ 字 Furigana
Meanings Jump to a sense… 1. greedy; avaricious; gluttonous 2. base; vile; despicable; vulgar 3. lowborn; lowly; of humble status 4. shabby; poor-looking Report an issue with this page
かね
に
卑いや
しい
ところ
が
ある
。
He has a greedy streak when it comes to money.
I don't want people to think I'm greedy about food.
Usage patterns 〈 物もの 〉 に 卑いや しい greedy/grasping about ~
He's a person who is greedy for money.
卑いや しい 根こん 性じょう a base, mean-spirited nature
Get rid of that mean-spirited nature.
卑いや しい 手しゅ 段だん dirty, underhanded means
He achieved success through underhanded means.
卑いや しい 身み 分ぶん low social status
He rose up from a lowly status.
卑いや しい 身み なり shabby appearance or clothing
The old man was dressed shabbily.
Expressions 卑いや しからぬ respectable; decent; not vulgar Kanji 賤 despise, low-life, poverty Related words· 7 浅ましい also condemns shameful, pathetic behavior, often emphasizing pitiful greed or lack of dignity, while 卑しい more broadly covers greed, vulgarity, low status, and shabbiness.
貪欲 is a more neutral or even positive word for greedy/ambitious, while 卑しい carries strong moral contempt for the same trait.
下品 directly means vulgar or crude in manners and speech, whereas 卑しい can also mean greedy or socially low, not just crude.
みすぼらしい is the everyday word for a shabby, poor-looking appearance, while 卑しい's shabby sense is more literary and can also imply low character.
Show 3 more 卑しい is an adjective describing lowly or vulgar character, while 下種 is a blunt noun/na-adjective used as a direct insult for a person.
卑しい describes a person's character as base or contemptible, a more literary word than the everyday 汚い used for mean or underhanded behavior.
卑しい describes a base or vulgar character more generally, while 卑劣 is stronger and specifically condemns sneaky, cowardly conduct.
Opposites 上品 means refined and elegant, the opposite of 卑しい's sense of vulgar or base behavior.
高貴 describes noble birth or refined nobility, the opposite of 卑しい's sense of lowborn or humble status.
卑しい describes something lowly, base, or unworthy of respect, the opposite of the noble, reverent sense of 貴い.
Don't confuse with 怪しい (suspicious) sounds and looks similar to 卑しい but describes doubtfulness rather than greed or baseness.
優しい (kind, gentle) is easily confused with 卑しい by sound and spelling but has an almost opposite, positive meaning.
Written forms 卑いや しい Usage 48%
Standard kanji spelling and the high-priority form.
いやしい Usage 42%
賤いや しい Usage 10%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji spelling; recognizable but not normally the form learners should produce.
Etymology A native Japanese i-adjective written with kanji such as 卑, conventionally associated with lowness or baseness. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.