いじる
いじる
verb (godan)
to fiddle with, mess with, tease
1.
to fiddle with, touch, mess with
To touch, manipulate, or play with something repeatedly, often aimlessly.
髪をいじる癖がある。
I have a habit of playing with my hair.
スマホばかりいじっている。
You're always fiddling with your phone.
あまりいじらないで、壊れるから。
Don't mess with it too much—it'll break.
2.
to tease, make fun of
To playfully mock or make jokes at someone's expense, especially in a comedy or group setting.
いじられキャラだね。
You're the type people like to tease.
後輩をいじって笑いを取る。
Getting laughs by teasing the junior members.
いじられても怒らないタイプ。
The type who doesn't get mad when teased.
3.
to tinker with, modify
To make adjustments or modifications to something, especially devices or settings.
パソコンの設定をいじる。
To tinker with the computer settings.
車のエンジンをいじるのが趣味だ。
My hobby is tinkering with car engines.
写真をアプリでいじって加工した。
I edited the photo using an app.
いじる is a versatile casual verb with several related meanings centered on "touching" or "messing with" something.
In comedy contexts, いじる means playfully teasing someone. The passive form いじられる describes being the target of such teasing:
- いじられキャラ: someone who's often teased for laughs
Kanji spelling 弄る exists but hiragana is more common in casual usage.