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吝嗇

けち

stinginess; miserliness; a miser; tightwad; pinching pennies

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 彼は金に吝嗇な人だ。

    かれはかねにけちなひとだ。

    He is stingy with money.

  2. 吝嗇なことを言うなよ。

    けちなことをいうなよ。

    Don't be so petty about it.

  3. 叔父は大金持ちだが吝嗇で、一円も出したがらない。

    おじはおおがねもちだがけちで、いちえんもだしたがらない。

    My uncle is very rich but a miser, and won't part with a single yen.

Common patterns

けちな人
a stingy person
けちをつける
to find fault; to carp at
けちくさい
petty; cheap; small-minded

Memory tip

Everyday speech writes this けち in kana; 吝嗇 is the stiff written form and is also read りんしょく. It is an insult — 節約家 or 倹約家 is the polite way to call someone thrifty. Note けちをつける is a separate idiom meaning 'to nitpick', with no money involved.

Kanji in this word

  • 吝Not in the N5–N1 kanji lists
  • 嗇Not in the N5–N1 kanji lists

Quick check

1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 4 of 5

What does 吝嗇 mean?