気(き)が気(き)でない

きがきでない

expression

anxious; restless; unable to relax

1. anxious; restless; on edge; unable to relax

To be so worried or preoccupied about something that one cannot focus on anything else or feel at ease. Describes a state of nervous anticipation.

試験(しけん)の結果(けっか)が気(き)が気(き)でない。

I can't stop worrying about the exam results.

子供(こども)が帰(かえ)ってこないので、気(き)が気(き)でなかった。

My child hadn't come home, so I was on edge.

面接(めんせつ)の合否(ごうひ)が出(で)るまで、気(き)が気(き)でなくて何(なに)も手(て)につかなかった。

Until the interview results came out, I was so anxious that I couldn't focus on anything.

Literally 'the mind is not the mind' — one's mental state is so disturbed by worry that it doesn't feel like one's normal self. This idiom vividly captures the experience of being consumed by anxiety while waiting for something.

Usage

Almost always used in negative situations involving waiting or uncertainty. The pattern ～が気(き)が気(き)でない is standard, where ～ is the source of anxiety. Also appears as 気(き)が気(き)じゃない in casual speech.

Variant

気(き)が気(き)じゃない — casual spoken form

Similar words

心配(しんぱい)でたまらない — unbearably worried; more direct expression of worry
そわそわする — to be restless, fidgety; describes visible physical restlessness
落(お)ち着(つ)かない — unable to calm down; more general restlessness
気(き)が気(き)でない is more idiomatic and vivid than these alternatives

Related Words

Compare: 落(お)ち着(つ)かない (unable to calm down)

Related: 気(き)が楽(らく) (at ease)

Compare: 居(い)ても立(た)っても居(い)られない (unable to sit still)

general

Added 2026.3.26 13:22 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

19500/19540_kigakidenai