堅 苦(かたくる)しい

かたくるしい

i-adjective

stiff; formal; stuffy

Conjugation

	Affirmative	Negative
Present	堅苦(かたくる)しい	堅苦(かたくる)しくない
Past	堅苦(かたくる)しかった	堅苦(かたくる)しくなかった
て form	堅苦(かたくる)しくて	堅苦(かたくる)しくなくて
Adverbial	堅苦(かたくる)しく	—
Conditional ば	堅苦(かたくる)しければ	堅苦(かたくる)しくなければ
Conditional たら	堅苦(かたくる)しかったら	堅苦(かたくる)しくなかったら

1. stiff; formal; stuffy

excessively formal or rigid in manner, creating an uncomfortable or uptight atmosphere

堅苦(かたくる)しい挨拶(あいさつ)はやめよう。

Let's skip the stiff formalities.

そんな堅苦(かたくる)しいことを言(い)わないで。

Don't be so uptight about it.

堅苦(かたくる)しい雰囲気(ふんいき)の会議(かいぎ)だった。

It was a stuffy, formal meeting.

堅苦(かたくる)しくない、気楽(きらく)な食事会(しょくじかい)にしましょう。

Let's make it a relaxed, informal dinner party.

An i-adjective describing excessive formality that makes people feel stiff and uncomfortable. It criticizes formality as being more than what the situation calls for.

Common collocations

堅苦(かたくる)しい挨拶(あいさつ): stiff, formal greetings
堅苦(かたくる)しい話(はなし): stiff talk / formal speech
堅苦(かたくる)しい雰囲気(ふんいき): a stuffy atmosphere
堅苦(かたくる)しくない: informal, relaxed

Similar words

硬(かた)い: stiff or rigid; can describe personality but also has physical and neutral uses
真面目(まじめ)すぎる: too serious; focuses on personality rather than atmosphere
格式張(かくしきば)る: to stand on ceremony; describes deliberately maintaining formal protocol
フォーマルな: formal; neutral loanword without the negative connotation

Usage

Often used when someone wants to lighten the mood or encourage others to relax, as in 堅苦(かたくる)しいことは抜(ぬ)きにして (setting aside the formalities).

Related Words

Antonym: 気軽(きがる) (casual, lighthearted)

Compare: 硬(かた)い (stiff or rigid)

Compare: 格式張(かくしきば)る (to stand on ceremony)

Compare: 角張(かくば)る (to be angular)

general

Added 2026.4.24 21:14 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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