Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| けちな | kechi na |
| 吝嗇な | rinshoku na |
| けちくさい | kechikusai |
These terms are used to describe someone who is unwilling to spend or give. Depending on the form chosen, the nuance can range from simple stinginess to a sense of being petty or acting in a small-minded way.
Which one should you use?
けちな is the most common, everyday way to describe someone as stingy. In contrast, けちくさい is a colloquial term that often implies someone is not just stingy with money, but also petty or small-minded in their behavior. Finally, 吝嗇な is a formal and literary term for stinginess that is rarely used in spoken conversation.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For casual conversations, you can use the informal けちな or the even more casual ケチ. If you want to use a colloquial expression to describe someone who seems to emit an air of stinginess, you can use ケチ臭い. 吝嗇な should be reserved for formal or literary contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun けち can be used to refer to the quality of being stingy or to describe a stingy person.
How do you pronounce it?
kechi na
Did you know?
- The word ケチ is frequently used as a verb in the phrase ケチをつける, which means to find fault with something or to complain about a detail to ruin the mood.
- The suffix -臭い (-kusai) literally means 'smelling of'. When attached to words like ケチ, it transforms the meaning from 'being stingy' to 'having the air of' or 'appearing' stingy, as if the person radiates a scent of cheapness.
- The kanji used in the formal 吝嗇 are quite rare in daily life. Using them in a conversation would be as striking as a person in London using archaic, Shakespearean English to describe a neighbor's habits.
Examples in context
- 昔々その村に１人のけちな老人が住んでいました。Once upon a time, there lived a stingy old man in the village.This sentence is useful for seeing けちな used in a narrative context to describe an old man.Tatoeba #142368 by bunbuku, translation #272202 by CM
- 彼は本当にケチだよ。He is really stingy.
- 彼はとてもけちな人です。Kare wa totemo kechi na hito desu.He is a very stingy person.
Example conversation
Misaki and Yota are talking about a friend's habit.
- 美咲 Misaki陽太君は、たまにけちなところがあるね。Yota-kun wa, tamani kechina tokoro ga aru ne.Yota, you have a stingy side sometimes.
- 陽太 Yotaえっ、僕はけちな人間じゃないよ！E, boku wa kechina ningen janai yo!What, I'm not a stingy person!
- 美咲 Misakiでも、チップを全然払わないじゃない。Demo, chippu o zenzen harawanai janai.But you never leave a tip.
- 陽太 Yotaそれは節約しているだけだよ。Sore wa setsuyaku shite iru dake da yo.I'm just saving money.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “stingy” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
