当あたり障さわり

あ

た

り

さ

わ

り

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

obstacle; hindrance; offense

Almost always used in negative expressions like 当たり障りがない or 当たり障りのない, meaning 'harmless', 'inoffensive', or 'uncontroversial'. It refers to something that does not cause trouble or hurt feelings.

彼かれはいつも当あたり障さわりのないことしか言いわない。
He always says only harmless, inoffensive things.
当あたり障さわりのない話わ題だいを選えらんで会かい話わを続つづけた。
I kept the conversation going by choosing safe, uncontroversial topics.

See all 12 example sentences ›

Expressions

当あたり障さわりのないharmless; inoffensive; safe; bland; neutral; noncommittal

Kanji

当hit, right, appropriate
障hinder, hurt, harm

Related words

差さし障さわり
差し障り also means 'hindrance' or 'obstacle', but is used more broadly and can appear in affirmative contexts. 当たり障り is almost exclusively used in negative phrases.

Built from

当あたる+障さわる

Written forms

当あたり障さわりUsage43%
Standard kanji spelling.
あたりさわりUsage32%
Kana spelling, common when avoiding kanji or for clarity.
当あたりさわりUsage13%
search-only kanji form
当あたり障さわりUsage8%
Variant with 当り instead of 当たり.
当あたりさわりUsage5%
search-only kanji form

Etymology

Compound of 当たり (from 当たる, 'to hit, touch') and 障り (from 障る, 'to hinder, harm'). The literal sense is 'hitting and hindering', but it is now used idiomatically in negative constructions.