1.
miser; skinflint; stingy person
A person who is extremely reluctant to spend money.
あの人は有名な吝嗇家だ。
That person is a well-known miser.
吝嗇家の彼が寄付するなんて珍しい。
It's unusual for a miser like him to make a donation.
世界的な大金持ちなのに吝嗇家として知られていた。
Despite being a global billionaire, he was known as a miser.
A literary or formal word for a miser. Composed of 吝嗇 (miserliness, stinginess) + 家 (person who is characterized by). The kanji 吝 and 嗇 both carry meanings related to stinginess. While understood by most Japanese adults, it has a literary or slightly old-fashioned feel.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 大吝嗇家: a great miser
- 吝嗇家で有名: famous for being stingy
SIMILAR WORDS:
- けち: stingy, cheap — the most common colloquial word for stinginess
- けちん坊: cheapskate — informal, slightly playful
- 守銭奴: miser (literally "slave to money") — literary and strongly negative
- 倹約家: frugal person — positive connotation, implying wise money management
REGISTER:
吝嗇家 is literary and somewhat formal. In everyday speech, けち or けちな人 is far more common.