理屈っぽい
りくつっぽい
adjective-i
argumentative; pedantic; overly logical
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 理屈っぽい | 理屈っぽくない |
| Past | 理屈っぽかった | 理屈っぽくなかった |
| て form | 理屈っぽくて | 理屈っぽくなくて |
| Adverbial | 理屈っぽく | — |
| Conditional ば | 理屈っぽければ | 理屈っぽくなければ |
| Conditional たら | 理屈っぽかったら | 理屈っぽくなかったら |
1.
argumentative; pedantic; overly logical; nitpicking
Describes a person who tends to argue using logic and reasoning in an excessive or annoying way. Carries a negative connotation — implying the person is difficult to deal with because they always insist on logical explanations.
彼は理屈っぽいから話しにくい。
He's so argumentative that he's hard to talk to.
あまり理屈っぽいことを言わないで。
Don't be so pedantic about it.
理屈っぽい性格のせいで、友達が少ないと自分でも思う。
I think my argumentative personality is why I don't have many friends.
FORMATION:
Uses the ～っぽい suffix meaning "tending toward" or "-ish": 怒りっぽい (short-tempered), 忘れっぽい (forgetful), 飽きっぽい (easily bored). The suffix generally carries a mildly negative nuance.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 理屈っぽい人 (a pedantic person)
- 理屈っぽい性格 (an argumentative personality)
- 理屈っぽいことを言う (to say pedantic things)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 屁理屈を言う: to make specious arguments — more negative, implies bad-faith reasoning
- くどい: long-winded — focuses on repetitive explanation rather than logic
- 論理的: logical — neutral/positive, unlike 理屈っぽい which is negative