ネアカ

ネ

ア

カ

Meanings

innate cheerfulness; sunny disposition

usually written using kana alone

Describes a person's fundamental cheerful, optimistic nature. Often contrasted with 根暗 (ねくら), meaning innate gloominess.

Antonyms: 根暗

彼かの女じょはネアカだから、いつも周まわりを明あかるくする。
She has a sunny disposition, so she always brightens up the people around her.
ネアカな性せい格かくは、友とも達だちを作つくるのに役やく立だつ。
A cheerful nature helps in making friends.

noun

innately cheerful person; happy-go-lucky person; natural optimist

usually written using kana alone

Refers to a person who is fundamentally cheerful and optimistic. Often used in casual conversation to describe someone's personality.

うちのクラスにはネアカが多おおくて、毎まい日にち楽たのしい。
There are many cheerful people in our class, so every day is fun.
彼かれは根ねっからのネアカで、落おち込こんでいるのを見みたことがない。
He is a natural optimist through and through; I've never seen him down.

Kanji

根root, radical, head (pimple)
明bright, light

Related words

根ね暗くら
Antonym: 根暗 describes an innately gloomy or pessimistic person or disposition, the opposite of ネアカ.
明あかるい
明るい means 'bright' or 'cheerful' in a general sense, while ネアカ specifically refers to an innate, deep-rooted cheerfulness.

Opposites

根ね暗くら sense 1
gloomy; pessimistic; dark-natured

Written forms

ネアカUsage100%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is common and matches usual-kana usage. The hiragana ねあか is also used.
ねあか
Hiragana spelling; the word is normally written in kana.
根ね明あか
Kanji spelling using 根 (root/nature) and 明 (bright). Rarely used; the word is almost always written in kana.
根ね明あか
irregular okurigana
Irregular okurigana variant; very rare.

Etymology

Compound of 根 (ね, root/nature) and 明 (あか, bright). The word likely originated as slang contrasting with 根暗 (ねくら, root-dark). The exact derivation is uncertain, but it is now a common colloquial term.