1.
paranoia; persecution complex; victim mentality
The tendency to believe that others are out to get you or that you are being unfairly targeted. Can refer to the clinical condition or be used colloquially to describe someone who reads hostility into neutral situations.
それは被害妄想だよ。
That's just paranoia.
彼は被害妄想が強くて、いつも誰かに悪口を言われていると思っている。
He has strong paranoia and always thinks someone is talking badly about him.
被害妄想に陥ると、周りの人との関係がうまくいかなくなることがある。
When you fall into paranoid thinking, your relationships with people around you can suffer.
USAGE:
In casual speech, 被害妄想 is often used lightly to tell someone they are overthinking or imagining hostility where none exists. In clinical contexts, it refers to a genuine psychiatric symptom.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 被害妄想が強い (to be highly paranoid)
- 被害妄想に陥る (to fall into paranoid thinking)
- 被害妄想気味 (somewhat paranoid)