1.
feeling awkward or reluctant to visit or approach someone
The traditional meaning: feeling unable to visit someone's home or establishment because of guilt, shame, or an unresolved debt. The "threshold" (敷居) feels too high to step over.
借金を返していないので敷居が高い。
I feel awkward going there because I haven't repaid my debt.
迷惑をかけたので、あの家は敷居が高い。
I caused them trouble, so I feel too guilty to visit that house.
約束を破ってしまい、彼の家は敷居が高くなった。
After breaking my promise, I found it hard to show my face at his house.
2.
intimidating; having a high barrier to entry; hard to approach
A newer, widely used meaning: describing a place, activity, or field that feels unapproachable or difficult to get into due to its exclusivity, formality, or perceived difficulty. Some prescriptivists consider this usage incorrect.
高級レストランは敷居が高い。
High-end restaurants are intimidating.
初心者には敷居が高い趣味だ。
It's a hobby that's hard for beginners to get into.
敷居が高いと思われがちだが、誰でも気軽に参加できる。
It tends to be seen as intimidating, but anyone can join casually.
Literally "the threshold is high." 敷居 is the wooden threshold at the bottom of a sliding door in a traditional Japanese house. The image is that the threshold has become so high one cannot step over it.
USAGE:
Sense 1 is the traditional meaning taught in language tests and dictionaries. Sense 2 (intimidating, hard to approach) is now dominant in everyday speech, though some consider it a misuse. Both senses are widely understood.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 敷居が高い店 — an intimidating shop
- 敷居が高く感じる — to feel it's hard to approach
- 敷居を下げる — to lower the barrier, to make more accessible
- 敷居をまたぐ — to cross the threshold
SIMILAR WORDS:
- ハードルが高い — high hurdle (similar to sense 2; no guilt connotation)
- 気が引ける — to feel hesitant, to feel bad about (overlaps with sense 1)
- 入りづらい — hard to enter (physical or psychological barrier)