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狡い

ずるい

sly, cunning, unfair, sneaky

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. そんなやり方は狡いよ。

    そんなやりかたはずるいよ。

    That way of doing it is unfair.

  2. 狐は他のどんな動物よりも狡いということだ。

    きつねはほかのどんなどうぶつよりもずるいということだ。

    It is said that the fox is more cunning than any other animal.

  3. 狡い手を使って勝っても、うれしくないでしょう。

    ずるいてをつかってかっても、うれしくないでしょう。

    Even if you win by sneaky means, you probably won't be happy about it.

  4. 自分だけ先に休むなんて狡いと言われた。

    じぶんだけさきにやすむなんてずるいといわれた。

    I was told it was unfair of me to take a break before everyone else.

Common patterns

狡い手を使う
to use an underhanded trick
狡いことをする
to do something sneaky
ずるい人
a sly person

Memory tip

Everyday ずるい is closer to English "that's not fair!" than to "cunning" — children shout it at each other. It is usually written in kana; the kanji 狡 (with the animal radical 犭) appears mainly in print.

Kanji in this word

  • 狡Not in the N5–N1 kanji lists

Quick check

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What does 狡い mean?