くすぐったい

く

す

ぐ

っ

た

い

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

くすぐったい · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	くすぐったい	くすぐったくない
Polite	くすぐったいです	くすぐったくないですalso くすぐったくありません
Past polite	くすぐったかったです	くすぐったくなかったですalso くすぐったくありませんでした
Past	くすぐったかった	くすぐったくなかった
Te-form	くすぐったくて	くすぐったくなくて
Adverbial	くすぐったく
Conditional	くすぐったければ	くすぐったくなければ
Tara conditional	くすぐったかったら	くすぐったくなかったら

Meanings

usually written using kana alone

Describes a physical sensation of being ticklish, or a situation that makes one feel ticklish.

usually written using kana alone

Used when one feels embarrassed or awkward, often due to excessive praise or attention. Similar to 'it tickles me' in English.

〈場ば所しょ〉がくすぐったいa part of the body feels ticklish
足あしの裏うらがくすぐったくて、じっとしていられない。
The soles of my feet are so ticklish I can't stay still.
〈人ひと〉に褒ほめられてくすぐったいfeel embarrassed/awkward from being praised by someone
先せん生せいにみんなの前まえで褒ほめられて、くすぐったい気き持もちになった。
I felt embarrassed when the teacher praised me in front of everyone.

こそばゆい
こそばゆい is a slightly more literary, less common word for the same ticklish or embarrassed feeling as くすぐったい.
照てれくさい sense 2
照れくさい focuses specifically on the shy, self-conscious embarrassment of being praised or noticed, a narrower use than くすぐったい's sense of emotional awkwardness.
恥はずかしいN4sense 2
恥ずかしい is the general, everyday word for embarrassment, while くすぐったい in this sense adds a lighter, pleasantly awkward nuance closer to being tickled.

痒かゆいN3
痒い describes an itch that makes you want to scratch, while くすぐったい describes a tickling sensation that makes you want to laugh or squirm.
くすぐるN1
くすぐったい is the adjective describing the ticklish sensation itself, while くすぐる is the verb meaning 'to tickle (someone)'.

くすぐったいUsage97%
Usually written in kana. The kanji form 擽ったい is rare.
擽くすぐったいUsage3%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; the kana spelling is strongly preferred.

Derived from the verb くすぐる (to tickle) with the adjectival suffix たい, expressing a sensation. The kanji 擽 is rarely used.