のろい

i-adjective

slow; sluggish

Conjugation

	Affirmative	Negative
Present	のろい	のろくない
Past	のろかった	のろくなかった
て form	のろくて	のろくなくて
Adverbial	のろく	—
Conditional ば	のろければ	のろくなければ
Conditional たら	のろかったら	のろくなかったら

1. slow; sluggish; dull

Moving, acting, or responding slowly. Often carries a slightly negative or impatient connotation, implying annoyance at the slowness.

この車(くるま)はのろい。

This car is slow.

彼(かれ)は仕事(しごと)がのろいので、いつも残業(ざんぎょう)している。

He's slow at work, so he's always working overtime.

のろい足取(あしど)りで歩(ある)いていたら、電車(でんしゃ)に乗(の)り遅(おく)れた。

I was walking at a sluggish pace and missed the train.

Usage

An i-adjective with a somewhat negative, critical tone. More colloquial and blunter than 遅(おそ)い. Can describe speed of movement, work pace, or mental quickness.

Forms

のろい (dictionary form)
のろくない (negative)
のろかった (past)
のろく歩(ある)く (adverbial: to walk slowly)

Similar words

遅(おそ)い: slow, late — neutral, standard term
のろい: slow, sluggish — more informal and critical
とろい: sluggish, dim-witted — colloquial, often about mental slowness
のろのろ: sluggishly (onomatopoeia) — describes slow, plodding movement

Related Words

Synonym: 遅(おそ)い (slow (neutral, standard))

Compare: どんくさい (clumsy, slow-witted, awkward)

general

Added 2026.3.19 15:58 · Revised 2026.10.10 4:34

17500/17873_noroi