めんどくさい
mendokusai
The English phrase 'hassle' can be expressed in Japanese as めんどくさい (mendokusai).
めんどくさい is used to express that a task or situation is bothersome, tedious or requires more effort than one is willing to expend.
Meaning: trouble, bother, unwanted annoyances or problems (noun)
Which one should you use?
While めんどくさい can be used to mean 'a hassle', it grammatically functions as an adjective describing the feeling of being bothered by something. For a more formal term that emphasizes the laborious and strenuous nature of a task, you can use 骨折り.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
めんどくさい is a colloquial form and should be avoided in formal or professional settings. For standard daily conversation, you can use the polite version めんどくさいです. In very casual speech, particularly among younger people, the word is often shortened to the slang form めんどい.
How do you pronounce it?
mendokusai
Did you know?
- The adjective めんどくさい literally translates to 'smelling of trouble'. It combines the word for 'trouble' with the word 'kusai', which means 'to smell bad'.
- In Japanese pop culture, specifically in anime and manga, めんどくさい is often used as a character trait to signal a 'genius' archetype who is too bored or lazy to apply their skills.
- The formal term for a strenuous hassle, 骨折り, literally translates to 'bone-breaking' to emphasize the physical or mental exhaustion involved.
Examples in context
- ちょっと、めんどくさいな。That's a bit of a hassle.The sentence is useful for expressing that a situation is a bit of a hassle using めんどくさい.Tatoeba #10972034 by small_snow, translation #7752547 by Hybrid
- このプロジェクトには手間がかかります。This project requires a lot of effort.
- 家事はやっかいだよ。Household chores are such a hassle.
- 明日の予定がめんどくさいんだ。Tomorrow's schedule is so bothersome.
- 手続きがめんどくさいから、嫌だな。Tetsuduki ga mendokusai kara, iya dana.The paperwork is a hassle, so I don't want to do it.
Example conversation
Ren and Himari are discussing a group project at a cafe.
- 蓮 Renこの資料の作成、すごくめんどくさいよ。Kono shiryou no sakusei, sugoku mendokusai yo.Creating these materials is such a hassle.
- 陽葵 Himari蓮くん、頑張って！半分は終わってるよ。Ren-kun, ganbatte! Hanbun wa owatteru yo.Hang in there, Ren! You're halfway done.
- 蓮 Renでも、やっぱりめんどくさいなあ。Demo, yappari mendokusai naa.But, it really is a hassle after all.
- 陽葵 Himari終わったら、美味しいものを食べに行こう。Owattara, oishii mono o tabe ni ikou.Once it's finished, let's go eat something delicious.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries めんどくさい, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
