陰かげ口ぐち

か

げ

ぐ

ち

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

malicious gossip; backbiting; speaking ill behind someone's back

Refers to saying negative things about someone when they are not present. Often used in phrases like 陰口を言う or 陰口を叩く.

彼かの女じょはよく人ひとの陰かげ口ぐちを言いう。
She often speaks ill of others behind their backs.
陰かげ口ぐちを叩たたくのはやめなさい。
Stop backbiting.

See all 26 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉の陰かげ口ぐちを言いうto badmouth someone behind their back
彼かの女じょは同どう僚りょうの陰かげ口ぐちを言いうのが好すきだ。
She likes to badmouth her coworkers behind their backs.
陰かげ口ぐちを聞きくto overhear backbiting talk
たまたま自じ分ぶんについての陰かげ口ぐちを聞きいてしまった。
I happened to overhear people badmouthing me.
陰かげ口ぐちを叩たたかれるto be badmouthed by others
新あたらしい部ぶ署しょでは、よく陰かげ口ぐちを叩たたかれていた。
In my new department, people often badmouthed me behind my back.

Expressions

陰かげ口ぐちを叩たたくbackbite; speak ill of someone behind their back

Kanji

陰shade, yin, negative
口mouth
蔭shade, shadow, backing assistance

Related words

悪わる口ぐちN3
悪口 covers speaking ill of someone in general (to their face or not), while 陰口 specifically means doing so when they are absent.
中ちゅう傷しょうN1
中傷 is a formal, often legal term for slander or defamation, whereas 陰口 refers to everyday, casual backbiting.
噂うわさN3
うわさ is neutral gossip or rumor that may or may not be negative, while 陰口 is specifically malicious talk about someone behind their back.
雑ざつ音おんN2
陰口 means malicious gossip said behind someone's back, while 雑音 in this figurative sense refers more broadly to unhelpful outside opinions or criticism.
ゴシップ
陰口 is malicious talk about someone said behind their back, while ゴシップ is broader idle chatter that isn't necessarily malicious.

Built from

陰かげ+口くち

Written forms

陰かげ口ぐちUsage92%
Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
蔭かげ口ぐちUsage7%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji form; not used in modern writing.
かげぐちUsage1%

Etymology

Compound of 陰 (kage, 'shadow; behind') and 口 (kuchi, 'mouth; speech'), literally 'shadow mouth', referring to words spoken when the subject is not present.