しわい

し

わ

い

しわい · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	しわい	しわくない
Polite	しわいです	しわくないですalso しわくありません
Past polite	しわかったです	しわくなかったですalso しわくありませんでした
Past	しわかった	しわくなかった
Te-form	しわくて	しわくなくて
Adverbial	しわく
Conditional	しわければ	しわくなければ
Tara conditional	しわかったら	しわくなかったら

Meanings

i-adjective

stingy; cheap; very frugal

usually written using kana alone

Describes a person who is unwilling to spend money or resources, often with a negative nuance. Can also be used for extreme frugality bordering on stinginess.

彼かれはしわいから、絶ぜっ対たいに奢おごってくれない。
He's so stingy he'll never treat you.
そんなしわいこと言いわずに、少すこしは寄き付ふしたらどう？
Don't be so cheap—why not donate a little?

See all 8 example sentences ›

Kanji

吝miserly, stingy, sparing

Related words

けち
けち is a more common and direct word for 'stingy' or 'miserly', while しわい is less frequent and can carry a nuance of being excessively frugal or tight-fisted in a somewhat old-fashioned or dialectal way.
せこい
せこい is a casual, often derogatory term for 'petty' or 'cheap', focusing on small-minded stinginess, whereas しわい is more about general unwillingness to spend.

Word family

吝しわん坊ぼう
miser; stingy person

Written forms

しわいUsage95%
Usually written in kana; the kanji form 吝い is rare.
吝しわいUsage5%
Rare kanji spelling; learners will almost always encounter the kana form.

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. It may be related to the classical adjective しわし (shiwashi) meaning 'wrinkled' or 'shrunken', metaphorically extended to a 'tight' or 'stingy' personality, but this is speculative.