The Meaning of kegarawashii [汚らわしい] In Japanese

汚らわしい
けがらわしい
Romaji: kegarawashii N1

What does 汚らわしい mean?

Translation and Meaning

filthy, dirty, indecent, vile

Definition

汚らわしい means ‘filthy, dirty, or indecent’ in English. It conveys not only physical mess but a sense of repulsiveness or moral repugnance, often with a literary or archaic tone. The word targets things, scenes, or actions that provoke strong disgust rather than simple dirt, and it carries a condemnatory nuance.

Type

Adjective (形容詞, i-adjective)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • physical dirt or contamination that is visible and offensive
  • moral repulsiveness or indecency in people or actions
  • strong condemnation in literature or rhetoric
  • archaic, formal register not common in casual speech

Composition

  • 汚: dirt, contamination or impurity
  • らわしい: a classical adjectival suffix indicating a quality; together they form a strong negative attribute relating to dirtiness or filthiness

Usage

Used in formal, literary, or critical language; conveys strong negative judgment about what is seen or described; not common in everyday casual speech; can modify nouns directly or be used predicatively; typically appears in descriptive writing, essays, or historical texts; used to condemn scenes, people, or behaviors as morally repulsive.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: imagine a large KEG of dirty water being WASHed away; the strong visual of dirt and cleansing links to the sense of汚らわしい as something morally or physically repulsive.

Variations

  • 汚い (きたない) dirty
  • 下品な (げひんな) vulgar
  • 卑しい (いやしい) mean, base
  • みだらな (みだら) lewd

Words with the same Meaning

Example Phrases

  • 路上のゴミは汚らわしいと私は思う。
    Rōjō no gomi wa kegarawashii to watashi wa omou.
    I think the litter on the street is filthy.
    Lista:
    • 路上 (rojō) – road, street
    • の (no) – genitive/possessive particle
    • ゴミ (gomi) – garbage
    • は (wa) – topic marker
    • 汚らわしい (kegarawashii) – filthy
    • と (to) – quotative
    • 私 (watashi) – I
    • は (wa) – topic marker
    • 思う (omou) – think
    「汚らわしい」は a strong i-adjective meaning filthy; in this sentence it serves as the predicate describing 路上のゴミ.
汚らわしい