生まれつき
Meaning in Englishby nature, by birth, native
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
What does 生まれつき mean? It means something you are born with; innate or natural from birth, not learned. It is used to describe traits, abilities, or conditions that are inherent rather than acquired; it appears across casual and formal contexts.
Main meanings
- Innate traits or abilities present at birth rather than developed later
- Used for congenital conditions, natural dispositions, or inherent characteristics
- Can describe talents that are natural rather than improved by training
How to use it
Used as a noun or adverbial phrase to describe innate traits or congenital conditions; in casual speech it can modify nouns with の, as in 生まれつきの才能; in formal writing it's used similarly to convey inborn characteristics; typical contexts include genetics, psychology, and everyday description.
Variants and close terms
- 生来の — innate; seirai no
- 天性の — innate; tensei no
- 先天的な — congenital/innate; sententeki
- 後天的な — acquired; gotenteki
Composition
- 生: birth, life
- まれ: stem from 生まれる meaning to be born
- つき: with/attached; here indicating an inherent state accompanying birth
Etymology
生まれ birth; つき with/attached; together they form a native compound meaning inherent from birth.
Origin
A native Japanese expression with long-standing usage in classical and modern language to denote states or traits present from birth.
Word class
noun (na-adjective) (名詞/形容動詞)