気味(きみ)

きみ
noun, suffix
feeling, sensation, touch of
emotion
See also: 君(きみ) (you (homophone))
1. feeling, sensation
A feeling or impression, especially an unpleasant or unsettling one. Often used in the compound 気味(きみ)が悪(わる)い (creepy, unsettling).
気味(きみ)が悪(わる)い話(はなし)だ。
That's a creepy story.
誰(だれ)もいないはずの部屋(へや)から物音(ものおと)がして、気味(きみ)が悪(わる)かった。
I heard sounds from a room that should have been empty, and it was unsettling.
あの笑(わら)い方(かた)はどこか気味(きみ)が悪(わる)い。
There's something creepy about that laugh.
2. touch of, slight tendency toward
Used as a suffix (～気味(ぎみ)) after nouns or verb stems to indicate a slight tendency or early signs of a condition, often something undesirable.
風邪(かぜ)気味(ぎみ)だ。
I have a touch of a cold.
最近(さいきん)太(ふと)り気味(ぎみ)なので、運動(うんどう)を始(はじ)めた。
I've been putting on a bit of weight lately, so I started exercising.
仕事(しごと)が遅(おく)れ気味(ぎみ)で、残業(ざんぎょう)が続(つづ)いている。
Work has been running a bit behind schedule, so I've been doing overtime.

Common patterns

As a standalone noun, 気味(きみ) is most commonly used in the phrase 気味(きみ)が悪(わる)い (creepy, unsettling). As a suffix, it attaches to nouns or verb stems with the reading ぎみ (voiced): 風邪(かぜ)気味(ぎみ), 太(ふと)り気味(ぎみ), 遅(おく)れ気味(ぎみ).

Note the reading difference: 気味(きみ) as a standalone word vs. ～気味(ぎみ) as a suffix.

Do not confuse with the homophone 君(きみ) (you), which uses different kanji.

Common collocations

general
Added 2026.2.24 21:48 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
13000/13448_kimi