間(ま)が悪(わる)い

まがわるい
expression
unlucky; bad timing; awkward
emotion
1. unlucky; unfortunately timed
Describes a situation where the timing is bad or one encounters an inconvenient coincidence.
間(ま)が悪(わる)いことに雨(あめ)が降(ふ)ってきた。
Unfortunately, it started to rain at the worst time.
間(ま)が悪(わる)く、店(みせ)はもう閉(し)まっていた。
As bad luck would have it, the store had already closed.
間(ま)が悪(わる)いときに電話(でんわ)が鳴(な)って、会議(かいぎ)が中断(ちゅうだん)された。
The phone rang at the worst possible moment and the meeting was interrupted.
2. awkward; embarrassing
Feeling uncomfortable or embarrassed because of an unfortunate encounter or situation.
悪口(わるぐち)を言(い)っているところを本人(ほんにん)に聞(き)かれて間(ま)が悪(わる)かった。
I felt awkward because the person overheard me talking badly about them.
元(もと)カノに偶然(ぐうぜん)会(あ)って間(ま)が悪(わる)かった。
I ran into my ex-girlfriend by chance and it was awkward.
嘘(うそ)をついたのがばれて、非常(ひじょう)に間(ま)が悪(わる)い思(おも)いをした。
My lie was found out and I felt terribly embarrassed.

Usage

Sense 1 describes bad timing or unfortunate coincidences, often used with ことに as 間(ま)が悪(わる)いことに (as bad luck would have it). Sense 2 describes the feeling of embarrassment when caught in an uncomfortable situation.

Similar words

  • 間(ま)がいい (good timing; lucky) is the positive counterpart
  • 気(き)まずい focuses more on interpersonal awkwardness, while 間(ま)が悪(わる)い emphasizes the element of bad timing

Related Words

Compare: 気(き)まずい (interpersonal awkwardness)
general
Added 2026.3.10 9:06 · Revised 2026.9.4 21:31
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