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きざ (kiza) Japanese meaning: affected | Kotomora
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His affected way of speaking gets on my nerves.
That actor always strikes a pretentious pose.
Usage patterns きざな 〈 人ひと 〉 a pretentious, affected person
きざなセリフ a cheesy, self-consciously cool line
He said a cheesy, pretentious line.
きざに 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 to do something in an affected, showy way
He gave an affected little smile.
きざな 態たい 度ど a pretentious, self-satisfied attitude
A pretentious attitude is disliked.
Related words 気障 describes someone acting affectedly stylish or superior in an irritating way, while 生意気 describes cheeky, disrespectful attitude especially from someone who should show more humility.
気障 and しゃらくさい both mock someone for putting on airs, but しゃらくさい is a more colloquial, dismissive put-down often said in anger.
気障 focuses on the irritating, showy manner of someone's speech or behavior, while うぬぼれ names the inner conceit or self-importance behind it.
Written forms きざ Usage 17%
Standard modern spelling; usually written in kana.
キザ Usage 64%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling used for emphasis or stylistic effect.
気き 障ざ Usage 18%
Kanji form is rare and mostly historical; the word is usually written in kana.
Etymology The kanji 気障 literally suggest 'spirit' and 'hindrance', but the word is a sound shift from きざわり (気障り), originally meaning 'unpleasant' or 'offensive'. The modern meaning of 'affected' or 'pretentious' developed from the idea of something that feels off-puttingly artificial.
