A touch of: 〜気味
Noun / Verb ます-stem + 気味（だ・の）
Noun / ます-stem + 気味: a slight state, often unpleasant (風邪気味, 疲れ気味). がち = it happens often; っぽい = resembling, character trait.
In short
〜気味 (ぎみ) signals that you feel a slight degree of a state, usually an unpleasant one: 風邪気味, “a touch of a cold”; 疲れ気味, “a bit tired”. It's used to talk about your health, your mood or a slight tendency.
- 今日は少し風邪気味なので、早く帰ります。きょうはすこしかぜぎみなので、はやくかえります。I've got a bit of a cold today, so I'm going home early.
- 最近、仕事が多くて疲れ気味だ。さいきん、しごとがおおくてつかれぎみだ。I've had a lot of work lately and I'm a bit tired.
- 正月に食べすぎて、太り気味です。しょうがつにたべすぎて、ふとりぎみです。I ate too much over New Year, and I've put on a bit of weight.
The basics
気味 (ぎみ, voiced reading as a suffix) means “a hint of, a touch of”. You notice in yourself or around you a state that's starting to make itself felt, without being serious: the start of a cold, a bit of tiredness, a slight delay — English “a bit of”, “slightly”, “-ish”.
It's very common for apologising or explaining your condition: 〜気味なので, “since I'm a bit…”.
I've got a bit of a cold, so I'm going home early.
- other
- noun
- grammatical form
- particle
- verb
- 朝からちょっと熱気味だ。あさからちょっとねつぎみだ。I've had a bit of a temperature since this morning.
How to form it
気味 attaches to a noun (風邪気味, 運動不足気味) or to a verb's ます-stem (疲れ気味, 太り気味, 遅れ気味). It behaves like a な-adjective, but before a noun it takes の: 疲れ気味の顔.
| Base | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | Noun + 気味 | 風邪気味だ |
| Verb | ます-stem + 気味 | 疲れ気味だ |
| before a noun | 〜気味の + Noun | 太り気味の犬 |
| as a cause | 〜気味で / 〜気味なので | 寝不足気味で |
- ここのところ、売り上げが下がり気味だ。ここのところ、うりあげがさがりぎみだ。Sales have been tending to fall lately.
- うちの犬は、少し太り気味のしばいぬです。うちのいぬは、すこしふとりぎみのしばいぬです。Our dog is a slightly chubby shiba.
気味, がち, っぽい
〜気味: you feel a slight degree of a state, now. 〜がち: something happens often, a bad habit or a repeated tendency (休みがち, “often absent”; 忘れがち, “prone to forgetting”). 〜っぽい: resembling, or having a nature prone to (子どもっぽい, “childish”; 忘れっぽい, “forgetful”).
| Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 風邪気味だ | I've got a touch of a cold (right now) |
| 風邪をひきがちだ | I often catch colds |
| 風邪っぽい | it feels like a cold (spoken) |
| 忘れっぽい | forgetful (character trait) |
- 冬は外に出るのを避けがちだ。ふゆはそとにでるのをさけがちだ。In winter, I tend to avoid going out.
- 姉は忘れっぽくて、よく傘をなくす。あねはわすれっぽくて、よくかさをなくす。My big sister is forgetful; she's always losing her umbrella.
Common mistakes
- Using it with a positive state: “元気気味” isn't said. 気味 is almost always for something slightly negative.
- Attaching it to an い-adjective (“寒い気味”): say 寒気がする, or 寒そうだ.
- Mixing it up with 気味が悪い (“creepy, eerie”): same kanji, but read きみ and with a completely different meaning.
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N3 point is on the Eizan Line (The body and health) of the Kyoto lines.