ついてない

expression

unlucky; out of luck; having bad luck

1. unlucky; out of luck; having bad luck

Colloquial expression for being unlucky, especially on a particular day or in a particular situation. The negative form of ついている ("to be lucky"), originally from 運(うん)がつく ("luck attaches to one").

今日(きょう)はついてない。

I'm out of luck today.

ついてないことばかり続(つづ)く。

Nothing but bad luck keeps happening.

電車(でんしゃ)に乗(の)り遅(おく)れた上(うえ)に財布(さいふ)も忘(わす)れて、本当(ほんとう)についてない一日(いちにち)だった。

I missed the train and forgot my wallet on top of it — it was really an unlucky day.

Colloquial contraction of ついていない, the negative of ついている ("to be lucky"). The fuller form 〜が付(つ)いていない can also be written with kanji but is overwhelmingly written in kana in this idiomatic sense.

Common collocations

ついてない日(ひ): an unlucky day
ついてないことばかり: nothing but bad luck
今日(きょう)はついてない: I'm having bad luck today
ついてないなあ: just my luck (exclamation)

Similar words

不運(ふうん): misfortune — more formal, often used in writing
運(うん)が悪(わる)い: literally "luck is bad" — neutral register, slightly more explicit
ついている: to be lucky — the positive counterpart

Related Words

Compare: 不運(ふうん) (misfortune)

general

Added 2026.5.11 16:01 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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