気味(ぎみ)

ぎみ
suffix
-ish; somewhat; tending toward
grammatical
1. -ish; somewhat; tending toward
A suffix attached to nouns or verb stems indicating a slight tendency or mild condition. Often, but not always, used for undesirable states. The kanji 気味(きみ) is read with rendaku as ぎみ in this suffix use.
風邪(かぜ)気味(ぎみ)なので早(はや)く帰(かえ)る。
I feel like I'm coming down with a cold, so I'll head home early.
最近(さいきん)太(ふと)り気味(ぎみ)だ。
I've been a little on the chubby side lately.
今日(きょう)の電車(でんしゃ)は遅(おく)れ気味(ぎみ)で、会議(かいぎ)に間(ま)に合(あ)うか心配(しんぱい)だ。
The trains are running a bit late today, so I'm worried about making the meeting.

Suffix derived from the noun 気味(きみ) (feeling, touch of). Attaches to:

  • Nouns: 風邪気味(かぜぎみ) (slight cold), 不足気味(ふそくぎみ) (somewhat insufficient)
  • Verb stems (ます-stem): 疲(つか)れ気味(ぎみ) (a bit tired), 太(ふと)り気味(ぎみ) (gaining weight)

Common collocations

Usage: Typically describes a mild tendency rather than a strong one. Often paired with undesirable states (illness, fatigue, delay), but can be used neutrally (e.g., 上昇(じょうしょう)気味(ぎみ) for trends).

Similar words

  • ～っぽい: -ish — more casual, often subjective impression
  • ～がち: prone to, tending to — emphasizes recurring tendency rather than mild degree
general
Added 2026.5.15 13:12 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
27500/27635_gimi