Lesson 136: 〜っぽい・〜がち・〜気味・〜だらけ

N3 · Lesson 136 · 18 min — -ish / prone to, often, a bit, full of: four little endings for tendencies and states

Last lesson, the neighborhood association got moving, and Neko-sensei even signed "ramen: yes" on the circulation board. But Rin is busy with his travel-agency internship, his part-time job and his reports for vocational school... In this lesson you learn four little endings that describe tendencies and states: っぽい, がち, 気味ぎみ, だらけ. Comic first!

After this lesson, you can:

• Use 〜っぽい for "-ish, like ~" and "prone to ~": 子こどもっぽい, 忘わすれっぽい
• Use 〜がち for "often ~, tend to ~" (bad tendencies): 遅おくれがち, 病気びょうきがち
• Use 〜気味ぎみ for "a bit ~, slightly ~": 風邪かぜ気味ぎみ, 疲つかれ気味ぎみ
• Use 〜だらけ for "full of ~, covered in ~" (things you don't want): 間違まちがいだらけ

Rin, are you okay?

Neko-sensei guest-teaches again. Rin seems off... (風邪かぜ=cold, 実習じっしゅう=internship, 薬くすり=medicine)

っぽい＝like ~/prone to ~, がち＝often ~, 気味ぎみ＝a bit ~, だらけ＝full of ~. Next: Kumata sees something's off with Rin...

Words for this lesson: little endings for tendencies and states

• 〜っぽい (ppoi): -ish, like ~; prone to ~
• 子こどもっぽい (kodomoppoi): childish, immature
• 忘わすれっぽい (wasureppoi): forgetful, always forgetting things
• 怒おこりっぽい (okorippoi): quick to anger, short-tempered
• 熱ねつっぽい (netsuppoi): feeling a bit feverish
• 〜がち (gachi): often ~, tend to ~ (bad things)
• 遅おくれがち (okuregachi): often late, prone to delays
• 病気びょうきがち (byōkigachi): often sick, in poor health
• 〜気味ぎみ (gimi): a bit ~, slightly ~ (a tendency)
• 風邪かぜ気味ぎみ (kazegimi): a bit of a cold
• 疲つかれ気味ぎみ (tsukaregimi): a bit tired
• 太ふとり気味ぎみ (futorigimi): gaining a little weight
• 〜だらけ (darake): full of ~, covered in ~
• 間違まちがいだらけ (machigaidarake): full of mistakes
• 実習じっしゅう (jisshū): internship
• 寝不足ねぶそく (nebusoku): lack of sleep
• あめ (ame): candy
• 泥どろ (doro): mud

Grammar 1 / 4: -ish / prone to ~

Noun / masu-stem / い-adjective minus い + っぽい: ① noun + っぽい = "like ~, -ish" (子こどもっぽい = childish) ② masu-stem of a few verbs + っぽい = "prone to ~" (忘わすれっぽい = forgetful) ③ 赤あかい → 赤あかっぽい = reddish.

• Noun + っぽい = like ~, -ish: 子こどもっぽい = childish, 熱ねつっぽい = feels a bit feverish, 赤あかっぽい = reddish. It does not mean it really "is" that. It means it "feels like" that.
• Masu-stem + っぽい = prone to ~: 忘わすれる → 忘わすれっぽい (forgetful), 怒おこる → 怒おこりっぽい (short-tempered). It describes a person's character: they do it easily. Only a few verbs work this way (忘わすれっぽい, 怒おこりっぽい), so don't attach it to just any verb.
• Conjugates like an い-adjective: っぽくない (not ~), っぽく なる (become ~), っぽかった (was ~), っぽい 人ひと (a ~ person).
• Drop the い of an い-adjective first: 赤あかい → 赤あかっぽい (reddish). っぽい is casual. Telling an adult 子こどもっぽい is a bit critical, so be careful.

• 先生せんせいは ときどき 子こどもっぽい。 — The teacher is sometimes childish.
• 最近さいきん、忘わすれっぽく なった。 — I've become very forgetful lately.
• 兄あには 怒おこりっぽい。 — My older brother gets angry at the drop of a hat.
• 今日きょうは ちょっと 熱ねつっぽいです。 — I feel a bit feverish today.
• 赤あかっぽい 服ふくを 買かった。 — I bought reddish clothes.

Grammar 2 / 4: Often ~ (bad)

Masu-stem / noun + がち = "often ~, tend to ~": it happens a lot, and mostly it's something bad. 遅おくれがち = often late; 病気びょうきがち = often sick.

• Masu-stem + がち = tend to ~: 遅おくれる → 遅おくれがち, 忘わすれる → 忘わすれがち. It means "often does that (without meaning to)": it happens a lot and the tendency is strong, but not every time.
• Noun + がち: Only a few nouns are commonly used this way. The most common is 病気びょうきがち (often sick, in poor health).
• Conjugates like a な-adjective: 遅おくれがちだ／遅おくれがちです, 遅おくれがちな 人ひと (a person who is often late), 少すくなく なりがちだ (tends to get less).
• Not for good things: がち has a "not-so-good" feeling. For good habits, just say it directly: 毎日まいにち 野菜やさいを 食たべて います.

• 最近さいきん、授業じゅぎょうに 遅おくれがちです。 — I've been late for class a lot lately.
• 子こどもの ときは 病気びょうきがちだった。 — I was often sick as a child.
• 雨あめの 日ひは 電車でんしゃが 遅おくれがちだ。 — Trains are often delayed on rainy days.
• 忙いそがしいと、寝ねる 時間じかんが 少すくなく なりがちだ。 — When I'm busy, I tend to get less sleep.
• 忘わすれがちな ことは メモしよう。 — Let's write down things we tend to forget.

Grammar 3 / 4: A bit ~

Noun / masu-stem + 気味ぎみ = "a bit ~, slightly ~": not strong, but you can feel it. 風邪かぜ気味ぎみ = a bit of a cold; 疲つかれ気味ぎみ = a bit tired.

• Noun / masu-stem + 気味ぎみ: 風邪かぜ → 風邪かぜ気味ぎみ, 疲つかれる → 疲つかれ気味ぎみ, 太ふとる → 太ふとり気味ぎみ. As an ending it is read ぎみ (風邪かぜ気味ぎみ). Used alone, 気味きみ is read きみ (気味きみが 悪わるい = creepy).
• Meaning: a bit ~: The degree is mild; it's how you feel: "I seem to have a little of it." It's most common for physical condition: 風邪かぜ気味ぎみ, 疲つかれ気味ぎみ, 寝不足ねぶそく気味ぎみ (a bit short on sleep).
• What can follow: 風邪かぜ気味ぎみだ／です, 風邪かぜ気味ぎみで (because I have a bit of a cold, ~), 風邪かぜ気味ぎみの 人ひと (a person with a slight cold).
• Different from がち: がち = happens often (many times); 気味ぎみ = right now there's a little of it (mild degree). 遅おくれがち = often late; 風邪かぜ気味ぎみ = a bit of a cold right now.

• すみません、ちょっと 風邪かぜ気味ぎみです。 — Sorry, I have a bit of a cold.
• 疲つかれ気味ぎみで、早はやく 寝ねた。 — I was a bit tired, so I went to bed early.
• 最近さいきん 少すこし 太ふとり気味ぎみだ。 — I've been gaining a little weight lately.
• 風邪かぜ気味ぎみの 人ひとは マスクを して ください。 — If you have a slight cold, please wear a mask.
• 試験しけんの 前まえは 寝不足ねぶそく気味ぎみに なる。 — I'm always a bit short on sleep before exams.

Grammar 4 / 4: Full of ~

Noun + だらけ = "full of ~, covered in ~": it's everywhere, and mostly it's something you don't want. 間違まちがいだらけ = full of mistakes; ごみだらけ = trash everywhere.

• Noun + だらけ = full of ~: 間違まちがい＋だらけ, ごみ＋だらけ. Attach it directly to the noun, with no が in between.
• Mostly unwanted things: It means "so much it's a problem": mistakes, trash, mud. If a park is full of beautiful flowers, say 花はなが いっぱい.
• What can follow: だらけだ／です, だらけの + noun (間違まちがいだらけの レポート), だらけに なる (become full of ~).
• How it differs from 気味ぎみ: 気味ぎみ = a person or state has "a little" of it (mild degree); だらけ = a place or thing is "full of" something (large amount). So you can't say 風邪かぜだらけ for a cold.

• この レポートは 間違まちがいだらけだ。 — This report is full of mistakes.
• 部屋へやが ごみだらけで、座すわる ところが ない。 — The room is full of trash, with no place to sit.
• 机つくえの 上うえが 紙かみだらけに なった。 — The desk is piled with paper.
• 間違まちがいだらけの 作文さくぶんを もう いちど 書かいた。 — I rewrote the essay that was full of mistakes.
• 先生せんせいの 机つくえの 上うえは あめだらけだ。 — The teacher's desk is full of candy.