気難しい
きむずかしい
adjective (i)
hard to please, fussy, particular
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 気難しい | 気難しくない |
| Past | 気難しかった | 気難しくなかった |
| て form | 気難しくて | 気難しくなくて |
| Adverbial | 気難しく | — |
| Conditional ば | 気難しければ | 気難しくなければ |
| Conditional たら | 気難しかったら | 気難しくなかったら |
1.
hard to please, fussy, particular
Describes a person who is difficult to satisfy, often picky about details or easily displeased.
気難しい人だ。
He's a hard-to-please person.
あの先生は気難しい顔をしていた。
That teacher had a stern expression on his face.
祖父は気難しくて、家族もなかなか話しかけにくい。
My grandfather is so fussy that even the family finds it hard to approach him.
USAGE:
Used almost exclusively to describe people or their expressions/attitudes. 気難しい顔 (a stern/difficult expression) is a very common collocation.
SIMILAR WORDS:
難しい describes general difficulty, while 気難しい specifically describes a person's temperament. 偏屈 (eccentric, stubborn) is stronger and more negative.