わがまま

わがまま
na-adjective, noun
selfish, willful
personality
1. selfish, self-centered, willful
Behavior characterized by doing what one wants without considering others; selfishness or capriciousness.
わがまま()わないで
Don't be selfish. / Don't make selfish demands.
わがまま() = to make selfish demands
(かれ)わがまま()
He is a selfish child.
Please forgive my selfishness.
Often used apologetically when making a personal request
That person is selfish and always wants things to go their own way.
If you give in to every selfish demand a child makes, it will cause problems when they grow up.
わがまま() = to give in to selfish demands

わがまま describes putting one's own wishes ahead of everyone else's — selfish, self-indulgent, wilful. It is used constantly of children who will not do as they are told, and of adults who behave the same way.

It is both a na-adjective and a noun. As a noun it names the selfish behaviour itself, which is why it takes and a verb: わがまま() is literally 'to say a selfishness,' i.e. to make demands one has no right to make.

Common patterns

Register: usually a criticism, but it is very often turned on oneself as a softener — わがまま()ってすみません, 'sorry to be difficult,' is a normal way to preface an inconvenient request. Said of a child it is mild; said flatly of an adult it stings.

Similar words: 自分勝手(じぶんかって) is blunter and purely critical, with none of わがまま's affectionate or self-deprecating uses. The opposite quality is 素直(すなお), being frank and unresisting.

Orthography: usually written in hiragana; the kanji 我儘(わがまま) exists but is uncommon.