ぎこちない
Japanese
Alternative forms
- ぎごちない (gigochinai)
Etymology
Some dictionaries[1][2] state that this is from earlier ぎこつない (gikotsunai, “blunt, brusque, rough”), with an early citation from 1534, but no further derivation given. The ending ない (-nai) appears to be the regular suffix indicating a quality or state (likely related to verb ending ぬ nu). However, there is no clear etymon for the gikotsu portion.
Meanwhile, there is the now-obsolete classical Japanese adjective 骨無し (kochinashi) of very similar meaning, with citations in the Heian-period book The Tale of Genji. A later form 骨無し (kotsunashi) is dated to the mid-1300s, a couple centuries later. The kanji are likely ateji: the literal meaning of boneless as spelled does not fit the semantics of how this term is used. The -nashi portion is very likely the same -nai adjectival suffix indicating a quality or state, while the kotsu or kochi portions can be found in reduplicative native-Japanese adverbs こちこち (kochikochi, imitative of the sound of ticking, or rattling; also used to describe something moving uneasily due to stiffness or lack of lubrication) and こつこつ (kotsukotsu, imitative of the sound of hard objects striking, such as doors or wooden clogs; also used to describe a person's looks or personality as angular or prickly). However, there is no clear etymon for the gi- portion. It might be an alteration of 気 (ki, “mood, temperament”).
Pronunciation
- (Tokyo) ぎこちない [gìkóchínáꜜì] (Nakadaka – [4])[2]
- IPA(key): [ɡʲiko̞t͡ɕina̠i]
Adjective
ぎこちない • (gikochinai) -i (adverbial ぎこちなく (gikochinaku))
- awkward, clumsy
Usage notes
Gikochinai refers to action that is unrefined and not yet smooth due to lack of practice. Tadotadoshii refers to action that is halting or stumbling due to the actor making mistakes.
Inflection
| Stem forms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperfective (未然形) | ぎこちなかろ | gikochinakaro | |
| Continuative (連用形) | ぎこちなく | gikochinaku | |
| Terminal (終止形) | ぎこちない | gikochinai | |
| Attributive (連体形) | ぎこちない | gikochinai | |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | ぎこちなけれ | gikochinakere | |
| Imperative (命令形) | ぎこちなかれ | gikochinakare | |
| Key constructions | |||
| Informal negative | ぎこちなくない | gikochinaku nai | |
| Informal past | ぎこちなかった | gikochinakatta | |
| Informal negative past | ぎこちなくなかった | gikochinaku nakatta | |
| Formal | ぎこちないです | gikochinai desu | |
| Formal negative | ぎこちなくないです | gikochinaku nai desu | |
| Formal past | ぎこちなかったです | gikochinakatta desu | |
| Formal negative past | ぎこちなくなかったです | gikochinaku nakatta desu | |
| Conjunctive | ぎこちなくて | gikochinakute | |
| Conditional | ぎこちなければ | gikochinakereba | |
| Provisional | ぎこちなかったら | gikochinakattara | |
| Volitional | ぎこちなかろう | gikochinakarō | |
| Adverbial | ぎこちなく | gikochinaku | |
| Degree | ぎこちなさ | gikochinasa | |
Synonyms
- たどたどしい (tadotadoshii)
References
- 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN