〜気味 (Slightly/Tending)

What is 〜気味?

〜気味 (gimi) expresses that something is slightly or somewhat in a certain state, or tending toward that state. It often (but not always) has negative connotations.

English equivalent: "slightly," "somewhat," "a bit," "tending to be"

Structure: [Verb ます-stem / Noun] + 気味

疲れる (tsukareru - get tired) → 疲れ + 気味 = 疲れ気味
"slightly tired"

風邪 (kaze - cold) + 気味 = 風邪気味
"slightly cold-ish" / "coming down with a cold"

太る (futoru - gain weight) → 太り + 気味 = 太り気味
"slightly overweight"

Basic Formation

With verb stems

[Verb ます-stem] + 気味

疲れ気味 (tsukare gimi) - "slightly tired"
太り気味 (futori gimi) - "slightly overweight"
遅れ気味 (okure gimi) - "slightly behind/late"
飲み過ぎ気味 (nomisugi gimi) - "drinking a bit too much"

With nouns

[Noun] + 気味

風邪気味 (kaze gimi) - "slightly cold-ish"
病気味 (byouki gimi) - "slightly ill"

Health Conditions

Mild symptoms

風邪気味だ。
Kaze gimi da.
"I'm coming down with a cold."

ちょっと風邪気味です。
Chotto kaze gimi desu.
"I have a slight cold."

最近疲れ気味。
Saikin tsukare gimi.
"I've been slightly tired lately."

胃が痛み気味。
I ga itami gimi.
"My stomach hurts a bit."

Physical States

Body conditions

太り気味だ。
Futori gimi da.
"I'm slightly overweight."

痩せ気味の体型。
Yase gimi no taikei.
"A slightly thin body type."

運動不足気味。
Undou busoku gimi.
"Not getting quite enough exercise."

Schedule and Progress

Being behind

遅れ気味のプロジェクト。
Okure gimi no purojekuto.
"A project that's running behind."

スケジュールが遅れ気味だ。
Sukejuuru ga okure gimi da.
"The schedule is running a bit late."

進み気味。
Susumi gimi.
"Progressing slightly ahead."

Weather and Temperature

Environmental conditions

寒気味の天気。
Samu gimi no tenki.
"Slightly cold weather."

暑気味だ。
Atsu gimi da.
"It's a bit hot."

曇り気味。
Kumori gimi.
"Slightly cloudy."

Emotions and Mental States

Psychological conditions

落ち込み気味。
Ochikomi gimi.
"Feeling a bit down."

不安気味。
Fuan gimi.
"Slightly anxious."

憂鬱気味だ。
Yuuutsu gimi da.
"Feeling somewhat depressed."

Excess or Overdoing

Too much of something

食べ過ぎ気味。
Tabesugi gimi.
"Eating a bit too much."

飲み過ぎ気味だ。
Nomisugi gimi da.
"Drinking a bit too much."

働き過ぎ気味。
Hatarakisugi gimi.
"Working a bit too much."

買い過ぎ気味。
Kaisugi gimi.
"Buying a bit too much."

気味 as Noun

Functions as a noun

疲れ気味の顔 (tsukare gimi no kao) - "a slightly tired face"
遅れ気味のスケジュール (okure gimi no sukejuuru) - "a behind-schedule timeline"

風邪気味なので休みます。
Kaze gimi na node yasumimasu.
"I'll rest because I'm slightly sick."

最近太り気味です。
Saikin futori gimi desu.
"I've been gaining weight lately."

With の

Modifying nouns

疲れ気味の社員。
Tsukare gimi no shain.
"Slightly tired employees."

遅れ気味のプロジェクト。
Okure gimi no purojekuto.
"A behind-schedule project."

太り気味の人。
Futori gimi no hito.
"A slightly overweight person."

Polite Forms

Casual: 風邪気味だ
Polite: 風邪気味です
With explanation: 風邪気味なんです

風邪気味です。
Kaze gimi desu.
"I have a slight cold."

最近疲れ気味なんです。
Saikin tsukare gimi nan desu.
"The thing is, I've been tired lately."

Common Expressions

風邪気味 (kaze gimi) - "coming down with a cold"
疲れ気味 (tsukare gimi) - "slightly tired"
太り気味 (futori gimi) - "slightly overweight"
遅れ気味 (okure gimi) - "slightly behind"
飲み過ぎ気味 (nomisugi gimi) - "drinking a bit too much"
食べ過ぎ気味 (tabesugi gimi) - "eating a bit too much"
働き過ぎ気味 (hatarakisugi gimi) - "working a bit too much"
運動不足気味 (undou busoku gimi) - "not exercising enough"

Softening Negatives

Polite way to mention problems

ちょっと遅れ気味で...
Chotto okure gimi de...
"We're running a bit behind..."

最近太り気味なんです。
Saikin futori gimi nan desu.
"I've been gaining a bit of weight lately."

風邪気味なので早退します。
Kaze gimi na node soutai shimasu.
"I'll leave early because I'm feeling a bit under the weather."

Comparing 気味 and っぽい

Slight state vs tendency

気味 - Currently somewhat in that state:

疲れ気味 (tsukare gimi)
"slightly tired" (right now)

風邪気味 (kaze gimi)
"slightly sick" (current condition)

っぽい - Has characteristics/tends to be:

疲れっぽい (tsukareppoi)
"tire easily" (general tendency)

子供っぽい (kodomoppoi)
"childish" (characteristic)

Pattern	Meaning	Example
気味	Slightly/somewhat	疲れ気味
っぽい	Tends to/has characteristic	疲れっぽい

See: 〜っぽい (Tend to be)

Usage in Medical Contexts

Describing symptoms

熱気味です。
Netsu gimi desu.
"I have a slight fever."

頭痛気味。
Zutsuu gimi.
"Slight headache."

体調不良気味だ。
Taichou furyou gimi da.
"Not feeling quite well."

喉が痛み気味です。
Nodo ga itami gimi desu.
"My throat is slightly sore."

Not Always Negative

Can be neutral or positive

While 気味 often describes negative states, it can be neutral:

進み気味。
Susumi gimi.
"Progressing slightly ahead." (neutral/positive)

明るめ気味。
Akarume gimi.
"Slightly brighter." (neutral)

Most common usage is still for negative/undesirable states.

With Adjective Stems

Less common but possible

長気味 (naga gimi) - "slightly long"
短気味 (mijika gimi) - "slightly short"
多気味 (oo gimi) - "slightly too many"

少し長気味だ。
Sukoshi naga gimi da.
"It's a bit long."

Particle Usage

With different particles

風邪気味で休む (de - reason)
"Rest because of slight cold"

疲れ気味の様子 (no - possessive)
"An appearance of being tired"

太り気味なので (na node - reason with な-adjective style)
"Because I'm gaining weight"

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Using wrong verb form

❌ 疲れる気味 ✓ 疲れ気味

Use ます-stem, not dictionary form.

Mistake 2: Overusing for serious conditions

気味 is for mild conditions. Don't use for serious situations.

❌ 重病気味 (too serious for 気味)
✓ 重病だ (seriously ill)

✓ 風邪気味 (slight cold - appropriate)

Mistake 3: Confusing with っぽい

疲れ気味 = currently slightly tired
疲れっぽい = tend to get tired easily (personality trait)

Mistake 4: Using too formally

気味 is relatively casual/conversational. For very formal contexts, use other expressions.

Summary

Key Points:

• 気味 expresses slight degree or tendency toward a state
• Formation: [Verb ます-stem / Noun] + 気味
• Often (but not always) negative connotations
• Common with: 風邪, 疲れ, 太り, 遅れ
• Functions as a noun, uses の to modify
• For mild conditions, not severe ones
• Different from っぽい (characteristic/tendency)
• Essential for softly describing undesirable states