五月蝿い
うるさい
noisy; annoying; fussy, particular (about something)
By Nihongo PathUpdated
Examples
外が五月蝿くて眠れない。
そとがうるさくてねむれない。
It's so noisy outside I can't sleep.
父は食べ物に五月蝿い。
ちちはたべものにうるさい。
My father is fussy about food.
五月蝿いなあ、少し黙っていてくれ。
うるさいなあ、すこしだまっていてくれ。
You're so loud — be quiet for a bit.
Common patterns
- 〜にうるさい
- to be particular about ...
- うるさい人
- a noisy or nagging person
- 口うるさい
- nagging
Memory tip
Ateji: 'fifth-month flies', which swarm and buzz — the characters were chosen for the image, not the sound. The second sense takes に and is a near-compliment ('discerning'). Written うるさい in kana in practice; bare うるさい! is rude.
Kanji in this word
- 五fiveゴ・いつ.つ・いつ
- 月month, moonゲツ・ガツ・つき
- 蝿Not in the N5–N1 kanji lists
Quick check
1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 4 of 5
What does 五月蝿い mean?