1.
to feel unwell; to feel sick
Describes a person who is not feeling well physically. A common, polite way to express illness.
具合が悪いんです。
I'm not feeling well.
朝から具合が悪くて会社を休んだ。
I've been feeling sick since morning, so I took the day off work.
顔色が悪いけど、具合でも悪いの？
You look pale — are you feeling unwell?
2.
to be in bad condition; to not work properly
Describes a machine, device, or situation that is not functioning correctly.
エアコンの具合が悪い。
The air conditioner isn't working properly.
車のエンジンの具合が悪くなってきた。
The car engine has started acting up.
パソコンの具合が悪くて仕事にならない。
My computer isn't working right and I can't get any work done.
3.
inconvenient; problematic; awkward
Describes a situation that is troublesome or difficult to deal with.
その日は都合が悪い。
That day is inconvenient for me.
人に見られると具合が悪い。
It would be awkward if someone saw us.
今それを言うのは具合が悪いから、あとにしよう。
It's not a good time to bring that up now, so let's save it for later.
具合 means 'condition' or 'state,' so 具合が悪い literally means 'the condition is bad.' Its most common use is to describe feeling physically unwell — it is the standard, polite way to say you're sick in Japanese.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 体の具合が悪い: to be in poor physical condition
- 胃の具合が悪い: to have a bad stomach
- 具合が悪くなる: to start feeling unwell; to malfunction
- 具合が悪そう: to look unwell
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 気分が悪い: to feel sick; to feel bad — overlaps with sense 1 but can also mean emotionally bad or offended
- 調子が悪い: to be out of form; in bad condition — similar across all senses but more informal
- 都合が悪い: inconvenient — specifically about scheduling or circumstances, narrower than sense 3