足手(あしで)まとい

あしでまとい
noun
burden; hindrance; someone who slows others down
personevaluation
1. burden; hindrance; dead weight
A person or thing that gets in the way of others and keeps them from moving or working freely. Most often used of a person, and frequently of oneself in self-deprecation.
足手(あしで)まといになりたくない。
I don't want to be a burden.
大(おお)きな荷物(にもつ)が足手(あしで)まといになった。
The big luggage slowed us down.
足(あし)を痛(いた)めていたので、チームの足手(あしで)まといになるのではないかと心配(しんぱい)だった。
My foot was hurting, and I worried I would be dead weight for the team.

Common collocations

  • 足手(あしで)まといになる: to become a burden
  • 足手(あしで)まといだ: to be dead weight
  • 足手(あしで)まとい扱(あつか)いされる: to be treated as a hindrance

Usage

Calling someone else 足手(あしで)まとい is harsh, so the word appears far more often in the first person (私(わたし)が足手(あしで)まといになる) or in an anxious question about oneself. Also read あしてまとい, and written 足手(あしで)纏(まと)い in older texts.

Similar words

  • 邪魔(じゃま): a nuisance, something in the way — broader, and not specifically about slowing progress
  • 重荷(おもに): a heavy load, a responsibility one can hardly bear

Related Words

Compare: 邪魔(じゃま) (a nuisance, something in the way)
Compare: 重荷(おもに) (a heavy load, a responsibility one can…)
Related: 足(あし)を引(ひ)っ張(ぱ)る (to hold back, to drag down)
general
Added 2026.8.14 3:28 · Revised 2026.9.29 10:17
30500/30625_ashidematoi