意い地じ悪わる

い

じ

わ

る

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

Describes a person, action, or attitude that is deliberately unkind or spiteful. Often used for teasing, bullying, or petty cruelty.

彼かれは弟おとうとに意い地じ悪わるなことを言いった。
He said something mean to his younger brother.
そんな意い地じ悪わるしないでよ。
Don't be so mean.

See all 31 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉に意い地じ悪わるをするto be mean/nasty to someone
彼かれは妹いもうとに意い地じ悪わるをした。
He was mean to his little sister.
意い地じ悪わるを言いうto say something mean/spiteful
そんな意い地じ悪わるを言いわないでください。
Please don't say such mean things.
意い地じ悪わるな〈人ひと〉a mean/nasty person
彼かの女じょは意い地じ悪わるな人ひとだと言いわれている。
She's said to be a mean person.
〈人ひと〉に意い地じ悪わるをされるto be treated meanly by someone
学がっ校こうで友とも達だちに意い地じ悪わるをされた。
I was treated meanly by a friend at school.

Kanji

意idea, mind, heart
地ground, earth
悪bad, vice, rascal

Related words

いじめるN4
いじめる is a verb meaning 'to bully' or 'to torment', often implying repeated physical or psychological harassment, while 意地悪 is a na-adjective/noun describing a mean-spirited attitude or petty unkindness.
残ざん酷こくN1
残酷 means 'cruel' or 'brutal', suggesting harsher, often physically or emotionally severe cruelty, whereas 意地悪 is milder and more everyday, closer to 'mean' or 'nasty'.
陰いん険けん
陰険 describes calculating, hidden malice or slyness, while 意地悪 is usually overt, petty meanness like teasing.
冷つめたいN5
冷たい describes emotional coldness or indifference toward someone, while 意地悪 implies active spite or teasing rather than mere aloofness.

Opposites

親しん切せつN5
親切 means 'kind' or 'considerate', the direct opposite of 意地悪's 'mean' or 'nasty'.

Don't confuse with

いじらしい
いじらしい sounds similar to 意地悪 but means 'pitiable' or 'touching', describing someone's endearing effort, not meanness.
意い地じっ張ぱりN1
意地悪 means mean-spirited or spiteful behavior, while 意地っ張り means stubborn; learners confuse them because both start with 意地.

Built from

意い地じ+悪わる

Etymology

Compound of 意地 (いじ, 'disposition; stubbornness') and 悪 (わる, 'bad; evil'). The reading わる is a kun'yomi variant used in compounds. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used since at least the Edo period to describe a mean-spirited or ill-natured person.