口が重い
くちがおもい
to be reticent; to be of few words
By Nihongo PathUpdated
Examples
彼は口が重くてなかなか話さない。
かれはくちがおもくてなかなかはなさない。
He is reticent and rarely talks.
その話になると父は口が重くなる。
そのはなしになるとちちはくちがおもくなる。
My father goes quiet whenever that subject comes up.
事故のことについては、誰もが口が重かった。
じこのことについては、だれもがくちがおもかった。
Nobody was willing to say much about the accident.
Common patterns
- 口が重くなる
- to grow reluctant to speak
- 口が重い人
- a person of few words
- 口を開く
- to open one's mouth (finally speak)
Memory tip
A heavy mouth is slow to open. It covers both a naturally quiet person and reluctance about one particular topic. It is not 口が堅い: that one is about guarding secrets, and a reticent person may simply have nothing to say.
Kanji in this word
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What does 口が重い mean?