Word
意地悪
Meaning in Englishmean, malicious, unkind
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
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Word context
What it means
意地悪 means 'spiteful' or 'mean-spirited.' It describes a person who intentionally treats others badly to hurt or upset them, driven by petty malice rather than anger or misunderstanding.
Main meanings
- primary sense: describing intentional cruelty or unkind behavior toward others, often over small matters
- usage with nouns or phrases: 意地悪な人, 意地悪な言動, 意地悪をする; used for both people and actions
- register: common in everyday speech; can be pejorative but not the strongest insult
How to use it
Used in casual to semi-formal speech to describe a person or behavior that is intentionally cruel or petty. Common patterns include 意地悪だ, 意地悪な人, 意地悪な言動; often used to describe explicit intention to hurt, mock, or embarrass someone.
Variants and close terms
- いじわる (ijiwaru) — synonym: same meaning, commonly used in speech
- ひどい (hidoi) — stronger sense of cruelty
- 思いやりがある / 優しい (omoiyari ga aru / yasashii) — antonym
Composition
- 意地: temper, stubborn will
- 地: ground/earth; here contributing to the sense of a trait
- 悪: bad
Etymology
Native compound formed from 意地 meaning will or temper and 悪 meaning bad; pronunciation ijiwaru arises from the standard kun readings joined in a common formation, with no external loanword influence.
Word class
adjective (na-adjective, 形容動詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N3
悪口
warukuchi
insult, badmouthing, abuse
N3
悪
aku
evil, vice, badness
N3
意
i
will, intention, meaning, thought
N3
地
chi
earth, ground, land, base
N3
地位
chii
status, social position, rank
N3
地域
chiiki
region, area, locality
N3
地下
chika
underground, basement, below ground
N3
地球
chikyuu
Earth, planet Earth
N3
地区
chiku
district, area, zone
Kanji