吝嗇(りんしょく)

りんしょく
noun, na-adjective
stinginess; miserliness
personalityabstract
1. stinginess; miserliness; extreme frugality
The quality of being excessively reluctant to spend money or share resources. A literary and somewhat formal word with strongly negative connotations.
彼(かれ)の吝嗇(りんしょく)ぶりは有名(ゆうめい)だ。
His stinginess is well known.
吝嗇(りんしょく)な性格(せいかく)のせいで友人(ゆうじん)を失(うしな)った。
He lost friends because of his miserly character.
節約(せつやく)と吝嗇(りんしょく)は紙一重(かみひとえ)で、度(ど)が過(す)ぎると周(まわ)りの人(ひと)に不快(ふかい)な思(おも)いをさせてしまう。
Thrift and miserliness are separated by a fine line, and when taken too far, it makes the people around you uncomfortable.

A literary, somewhat old-fashioned word for extreme stinginess. The na-adjective form 吝嗇(りんしょく)な is used to describe miserly people or behavior. While 節約(せつやく) (economizing) is positive and 倹約(けんやく) (frugality) is neutral to positive, 吝嗇(りんしょく) is unambiguously negative, implying selfishness and pettiness.

The alternate reading けち is colloquial and far more common in everyday speech, written in hiragana or as ケチ in katakana.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • ケチ: stingy; cheap — the everyday colloquial equivalent
  • 倹約(けんやく): frugality; thrift — neutral to positive, implies wise spending
  • 節約(せつやく): economizing; saving — positive, implies cutting unnecessary expenses
  • 守銭奴(しゅせんど): miser; money-grubber — strongly negative, emphasizing obsession with money

Related Words

Compare: けち (stingy)
Compare: 倹約(けんやく) (frugality)
Compare: 節約(せつやく) (economizing)
Compare: けちんぼ (cheapskate, miser)
general
Added 2026.4.22 19:14 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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