1.
on impulse; on a whim; in a moment of weakness
acting on a sudden urge without premeditation, often used to explain or excuse bad behavior such as petty theft or cheating
出来心でやってしまった。
I did it on impulse.
出来心で万引きをして捕まった。
I shoplifted on impulse and got caught.
いくら出来心でやったと言っても、犯罪は犯罪だ。
No matter how much you say it was done on impulse, a crime is a crime.
The noun 出来心 means a sudden impulse or whim, especially one that leads to wrongdoing. It combines 出来 (occurrence) and 心 (heart, mind). Almost always used with the particle で to form the adverbial phrase 出来心で. The word strongly implies that the action was not premeditated and is often used as an excuse or mitigating explanation.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 出来心で盗む: to steal on impulse
- 出来心から: out of a sudden impulse
- ほんの出来心: just a momentary impulse
- 出来心とはいえ: even though it was on impulse
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 衝動的に: impulsively — a more neutral term for acting on impulse
- つい: unintentionally, without meaning to — milder, for small slips
- 魔が差す: to be tempted by the devil — yielding to a momentary bad impulse