チャラい

ちゃらい

i-adjective

flashy; frivolous; superficial

informalcolloquialappearance personality

Conjugation

	Affirmative	Negative
Present	チャラい	チャラくない
Past	チャラかった	チャラくなかった
て form	チャラくて	チャラくなくて
Adverbial	チャラく	—
Conditional ば	チャラければ	チャラくなければ
Conditional たら	チャラかったら	チャラくなかったら

1. flashy; gaudy; showy

Describing an appearance or style that is overly flashy or attention-seeking.

チャラい服(ふく)だね。

Those are flashy clothes.

チャラい髪(かみ)型(がた)にした。

I got a flashy hairstyle.

あのアクセサリーはちょっとチャラい。

Those accessories are a bit gaudy.

2. frivolous; superficial; flaky

Describing a person who seems shallow, unreliable, or overly focused on having fun and flirting.

チャラい男(おとこ)は嫌(きら)いだ。

I don't like frivolous guys.

彼(かれ)はチャラく見(み)えるけど真面目(まじめ)だ。

He looks superficial but he's actually serious.

チャラい態度(たいど)を取(と)るのはやめて。

Stop acting so frivolous.

チャラい comes from チャラチャラ, an onomatopoeia for jingling sounds (like cheap accessories) or frivolous behavior.

Register

This is casual slang, often used critically. It's not appropriate for formal contexts.

Common patterns

チャラい男(おとこ)/チャラ男(お): a frivolous/flashy guy
チャラく見(み)える: to look frivolous/flashy

general

Added 2026.2.1 16:08 · Revised 2026.10.1 19:38

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