1. Basic structure
| Pattern | Formation | General meaning | Short example | Nuance |
|---|
| Vます＋気味 | Verb stem (remove ます) + 気味 | Slightly ... / tending to ... | 疲れ気味 | Light, objective, often negative |
| N＋気味 | Noun + 気味 | Slight feeling of ... | 風邪気味 | Describes physical/mental condition |
2. Main meaning & detailed analysis
- “Slightly, a feeling of”: expresses a light degree, not clear-cut but showing a tendency to appear.
- Scope: commonly used for physical states (疲れ気味, 太り気味), mental states (緊張気味, 焦り気味), and situations (遅れ気味, 下降気味).
- Highly objective: describes observations of oneself/others without strong judgment.
- Different from っぽい: 気味 emphasizes a “slight current tendency,” while っぽい emphasizes “resemblance/leaning toward,” often subjective and colloquial.
3. Example sentences
- 最近、仕事が忙し気味で、睡眠不足だ。
Lately work is a bit busy, and I'm sleep-deprived. - 雨で試合の開始が遅れ気味だ。
Due to the rain, the start of the game is running a bit late. - 会議のとき、彼はいつも緊張気味だ。
During meetings, he is always a bit nervous. - 風邪気味なので、今日は早めに帰ります。
I feel a bit of a cold, so I'll go home early today. - 食べ過ぎで太り気味になってきた。
I've started to put on a bit of weight from overeating.
4. Usage & nuance
- Combination: N/Vます-stem directly + 気味; does not attach to い/な-adjectives.
- Degree: “a little/somewhat,” not strong; for stronger degree use ～気がする, ～っぽい, ～過ぎ, ～ぎみでもない.
- Context: neutral to polite; usable at work when describing conditions.
- Often pairs with somewhat negative vocabulary: 疲れ, 太り, 不足, 下降, 遅れ; positives are rarer (上向き気味 exists but is uncommon).
5. Comparison, distinctions, and similar patterns
| Pattern | Meaning | Key difference | Short example |
|---|
| ～気味 | Slight/has a tendency (light) | Objective; used with N/Vます | 疲れ気味 |
| ～っぽい | Resembles/leans toward | Colloquial, subjective, broad combinability | 子供っぽい／ミスしがちっぽい(×) |
| ～がち | Often/apt to (repeated tendency) | Stronger than 気味; carries a negative nuance | 遅れがち／病気がち |
| ～気がする | Feel/feel like | Emphasizes subjective feeling; takes a full clause | 疲れている気がする |
6. Additional notes
- Written forms attached/separate: both 忙し気味／忙しぎみ are seen; the hiragana form ぎみ is common in learning materials.
- With fixed Sino-Japanese words: 目つきが悪い vs 目つき気味(rare) → prioritize familiar state nouns.
- In speech, can be mildly emphasized with adverbs: ちょっと疲れ気味, 少し太り気味.
7. Variations & set phrases
- 風邪気味／疲れ気味／寝不足気味／便秘気味／上がり気味（slight price increase）／下降気味
- 太り気味／痩せ気味／遅れ気味／混み気味／焦り気味／不安気味
8. Common mistakes & JLPT traps
- Incorrect combination of word type: × 寒い気味 → Correct: 寒気味 is unnatural; use 寒気がする／寒がりだ.
- Confusing degree: 気味 means only “slightly”; to say “very tired,” use すごく疲れている, 疲れすぎだ, ぐったりだ.
- Confused with ～がち: 遅れ気味 (a bit late) ≠ 遅れがち (often late).
- JLPT: trick questions choose between 気味/っぽい/がち based on nuance: “slight – frequent – similar.”
