日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N3

～気味

~gimi

a bit of a tendency toward

When to use it

Use ～気味 in reports, status updates, and email to flag a slight, incipient tendency — usually one you'd rather not see. It's softer and less clinical than やや／若干 and pairs naturally with trend verbs (下がる・遅れる・上がる) and physical or emotional states (風邪・疲れ・焦る). Avoid it for desirable trends: 売上が伸び気味 sounds oddly grudging, so prefer 伸びつつある.

Formation

  • Verb: ます-stem + 気味 → 遅れる→遅れ気味、下がる→下がり気味、焦る→焦り気味
  • Noun: a small closed set only → 風邪気味、便秘気味 (not productive; ✕会議気味)
  • i-adjective: not used → say やや高い or 高め instead of ✕高い気味
  • na-adjective: not used → やや不安定／不安定気味 is nonstandard in writing
  • Behaves as a noun: ～気味だ／～気味の＋N／～気味がある／adverbially ～気味に
  • Read ぎみ (voiced) as a suffix, though written 気味

Examples

  • Orders this term have been trending slightly downward.

  • Development is running a bit behind, so we'll revise the schedule.

  • With the weak yen, costs are on a slight upward trend.

  • I'm coming down with a cold, so I'll join online today.

  • The other side pressed for a discount, sounding somewhat rushed.