Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 微小な | bishō na | |
| 凡庸な | bon'yō na | |
| 小さい | chīsai | [t͡ɕiːsa̠i] (narrow) |
| 狭量 | kyōryō | [kʲo̞ːɾʲo̞ː] (narrow) |
The translation of petty depends heavily on whether you are describing physical size, a person's character or the quality of an action. To describe a person's small-mindedness or narrow views, use 狭量. To describe something as boring, uninteresting or trivial behavior, you can use the informal term つまらない. Other informal ways to express similar sentiments include くだらない, which refers to something worthless or nonsense and しょうもない, which describes something as ridiculous or frivolous.
Which one should you use?
The different Japanese terms are not interchangeable. Use 微小な specifically when referring to something that is physically microscopic or minute. Use 凡庸な to describe something that is mediocre or commonplace rather than small-minded.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to use the noun 狭量 as a na-adjective to modify a noun, you should add な to form 狭量な.
How do you pronounce it?
bishō na
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use 微小な to describe a person's petty or small-minded behavior. This term is reserved for physical size, such as microscopic objects.
Did you know?
- The term くだらない (kudaranai), often used for 'petty' or 'worthless' things, literally translates to 'not worth descending to' or 'not worth bringing down'.
- The common adverb ちょっと, meaning 'a little bit', shares a linguistic root with 小さい. Both stem from an ancient element associated with smallness.
- The phrase しょうもない is frequently used in the Kansai region to describe petty or pointless situations more often than in Tokyo.
Example sentences for Japanese are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Misaki and Hiroto are discussing a disagreement between coworkers.
- 美咲 Misaki同僚の二人がまた揉めているみたいよ。Dōryō no futari ga mata momete iru mitai yo.It looks like those two colleagues are arguing again.
- 大翔 Hiroto本当に微小な理由で言い争っているよね。Hontō ni bishōna riyū de iiaratte iru yo ne.They really are bickering over a petty reason.
- 美咲 Misakiもっと広い視点を持ってほしいわ。Motto hiroi shiten o motte hoshii wa.I wish they had a broader perspective.
- 大翔 Hirotoそうだね。気にせず仕事に集中しよう。Sō da ne. Ki ni sezu shigoto ni shūchū shiyō.True. Let's just ignore it and focus on work.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “petty” translations and entries 小さい, 狭量, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 小さい, CC BY-SA 4.0.
