意地悪
ijiwaru[iʑiβ̞a̠ɾɯ̟]
To say "someone is mean" in Japanese, use 意地悪 (ijiwaru).
意地悪 is used to describe someone who is unkind or enjoys being cruel to others. While it is commonly used to describe children being unkind to one another, it is also used for adults who are being petty or spiteful.
Which one should you use?
意地悪 describes a person's mean-spirited character or specific spiteful actions, but it is distinct from words describing general cruelty or physical violence.
How does it change in a sentence?
To use this as a complete sentence meaning "is mean", you should add です to the end (意地悪です). When using this word to modify a noun (e.g., 'a mean person'), you must use the form 意地悪な.
How do you pronounce it?
ijiwaru
Did you know?
- In some contexts, calling someone 意地悪 can actually sound slightly flirtatious or 'teasing' if said with a certain tone between close friends or couples.
- The word 意地悪 consists of 意地 meaning 'will' or 'stubbornness' and 悪 meaning 'bad'. It literally describes someone whose very stubbornness or willpower is used for bad purposes.
- Japanese often avoids saying 意地悪です directly to a person's face to avoid conflict. Instead, speakers might describe the action as 意地悪なことをする meaning 'doing a mean thing'.
Examples in context
- 嫌な人ですね。He/she is a mean person.
- マジで性格悪いよ！Seriously, he/she has a bad personality!
- めっちゃ意地悪だな。He/she's really mean.
- あの人はとても意地悪です。Ano hito wa totemo ijiwaru desu.That person is very mean.
- 意地悪なことを言わないでください。Ijiwaru na koto o iwanaide kudasai.Please do not say mean things.
- 彼は子供に対して意地悪だ。Kare wa kodomo ni taishite ijiwaru da.He is mean to children.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a classmate at school.
- 陽太 Yota田中さんは本当に意地悪だね。Tanaka-san wa hontou ni ijiwaru dane.Tanaka is really mean, isn't he?
- 美咲 Misakiうん、いつも意地悪なことばかり言ってる。Un, itsumo ijiwaru na koto bakari itteru.Yeah, he is always saying mean things.
- 陽太 Yotaどうしてあんなに意地悪なんだろう。Doushite anna ni ijiwaru nan darou.I wonder why he is so mean.
- 美咲 Misaki理由がわからないよ。Riyuu ga wakaranai yo.I don't know the reason.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 意地悪, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
