Word
意地悪
Meaning in Englishmean, malicious, unkind
Animated kanji stroke order
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)