1.
to feel reluctant to leave; to feel a lingering attachment
To feel a strong pull of reluctance when leaving a place, person, or situation. The image is of having one's hair pulled from behind as one tries to walk away.
後ろ髪を引かれる思いで帰った。
I went home feeling reluctant to leave.
楽しかった旅行も終わり、後ろ髪を引かれながら空港に向かった。
The fun trip was over, and I headed to the airport feeling reluctant to leave.
泣いている子供を残して出かけるのは、後ろ髪を引かれる思いだった。
Leaving while my child was crying was heart-wrenching — I felt so reluctant to go.
A vivid idiom that literally describes the sensation of having one's hair pulled from behind as one tries to leave. The image perfectly captures the feeling of being emotionally 'pulled back' by attachment to something you must leave behind.
GRAMMAR:
Most commonly appears in the patterns:
- 後ろ髪を引かれる思い — with a feeling of reluctance
- 後ろ髪を引かれながら — while feeling reluctant to leave
The expression is almost always used in the passive form (引かれる), emphasizing that the feeling acts upon the person involuntarily.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 名残惜しい — reluctant to part; similar meaning but more directly states the emotion
- 未練がある — to have lingering attachment; implies inability to let go
- 心残り — regret about leaving something undone; focuses on unfinished business