nigai (Japanese word for bitter)
concept / concept-word-nigai-ja
苦い
Nigai (Japanese word for bitter) is a Japanese adjective with both a basic taste sense and figurative senses of unpleasantness, pain, and distress. The noun forms (nigami; in translation: "bitterness") and (nigami; in translation: "bitterness") are also covered.
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Reading the bitterness
For the Japanese adjective 「苦い」 (nigai; in translation: "bitter"), Digital Daijisen defines its first sense as 『舌を刺激し、口がゆがむような嫌な味である。』 (in translation: "having an unpleasant taste that irritates the tongue and makes the mouth contort"), with examples 「餅が黒焦げになって苦い」 (in translation: "the rice cake is burnt black and bitter") and 「苦いコーヒー」 (in translation: "bitter coffee"). The noun forms 「苦み」 (nigami; in translation: "bitterness") and 「苦味」 (nigami; in translation: "bitterness") likewise have a taste sense; 「苦味の強いコーヒー」 (in translation: "coffee with strong bitterness") illustrates degree of bitterness. The dictionary notes that 「味」 (in translation: "taste") in the spelling 「苦味」 (in translation: "bitterness") is ateji. It also has a separate headword 「苦味（くみ）」 (kumi; in translation: "bitter taste"), read differently but likewise denoting a bitter taste.
The dictionary also gives 「苦い」 (nigai; in translation: "bitter") figurative senses of displeasure and distress. The sense 『不快である。おもしろくない。にがにがしい。』 (in translation: "unpleasant; uninteresting; bitter-faced") is illustrated by 「交渉決裂の報に苦い顔をする」 (in translation: "making a bitter face at news that negotiations broke down"). A sense in which even thinking about something is painful is illustrated by 「苦い思い」 (in translation: "bitter memories") and 「苦い経験」 (in translation: "bitter experience"). The noun 「苦み」 (nigami; in translation: "bitterness") has parallel senses, including an unpleasant state of mind illustrated by a quotation from 「蘆花・不如帰」 (Roka, Hototogisu). It also has a sense for evaluating a man’s appearance, 『渋さを含んでひきしまった感じのすること。』 (in translation: "having a firm, composed look with a touch of astringency"), extending to uses such as 「渋い二枚目」 (in translation: "an austere-looking handsome man").
「苦い」 (nigai; in translation: "bitter") also has derivatives 「にがさ」 (nigasa; in translation: "degree of bitterness") and 「にがみ」 (nigami; in translation: "bitterness"). The idiom 「苦虫を噛み潰したよう」 (in translation: "as if one had crushed a bitter insect in one’s mouth") is defined as 『ひどくにがにがしい顔をするようす。不愉快そうな顔つき。』 (in translation: "an expression of extreme displeasure; an unhappy-looking face"), and 「苦虫」 (nigamushi; in translation: "bitter insect") is entered, defined as 『かめば苦かろうと思われる虫』 (in translation: "an insect imagined to taste bitter if chewed").
Sources for this overview
Checked for this overview: Presented verbatim the first sense concerning taste. / Used verbatim the sense of unpleasantness and a bitter expression. / Used the sense describing a painful, distressed state of mind. / Used the derived noun forms nigasa ("degree of bitterness") and nigami ("bitterness").
Checked for this overview: Presented the sense describing the degree of bitterness and its example. / Used the supplementary note that the kanji character in the spelling nigami ("bitterness") is ateji. / Used the sense of an unpleasant state of mind expressed by nigami ("bitterness"). / Used the sense of nigami ("bitterness") applied to judgments of facial appearance.
Checked for this overview: Used the definition of the separate headword kumi ("bitter taste").
Checked for this overview: Used verbatim the definition of nigamushi o kamitsubushita yō (in translation: "as if one had crushed a bitter insect in one’s mouth").
Checked for this overview: Used the definition describing nigamushi ("bitter insect") as an imagined insect.
Other names: 苦み (ja), 苦味 (ja)
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Culture (11)
Scope: Digital Daijisen, nigai ("bitter"), sense 1 — headword nigai, as republished by Kotobank
Note: The taste sense. The same dictionary goes on to list senses 2 and 3 (the metaphorical senses) as separate entries.
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concept-word-nigai-ja —is_defined_in_dictionary_as→ "『舌を刺激し、口がゆがむような嫌な味である。』 Examples: 「餅が黒焦げになって―・い」「―・いコーヒー」 (in translation: "An unpleasant taste that stimulates the tongue and makes the mouth pucker." Examples: "the rice cake got burnt black and turned nigai [bitter]"; "nigai [bitter] coffee")"Scope: Digital Daijisen, 「苦い」 (nigai; in translation: "bitter"), sense 2 — headword nigai, as republished by Kotobank
Note: A figurative sense of displeasure derived from the taste sense.
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concept-word-nigai-ja —is_defined_in_dictionary_as→ "『不快である。おもしろくない。にがにがしい。』 Example: 「交渉決裂の報に―・い顔をする」 (in translation: "Unpleasant; uninteresting; bitter-faced." Example: "making a bitter face at news that negotiations broke down")"Scope: Digital Daijisen, nigai ("bitter"), sense 3 — headword nigai, as republished by Kotobank
Note: The example "a bitter experience" is included under this sense 3.
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concept-word-nigai-ja —is_defined_in_dictionary_as→ "『つらくて苦しい。その事を考えたり思い出したりするのも嫌である。』 Examples: 「―・い思い」「―・い経験」 (in translation: "Painful and hard to bear; one dislikes even thinking of or remembering it." Examples: "a nigai [bitter] feeling"; "a nigai [bitter] experience")"Scope: Digital Daijisen, 「苦い」 (nigai; in translation: "bitter"), derivative section, as republished by Kotobank
Note: The dictionary explicitly lists two noun forms derived from the adjective 「苦い」 (nigai; in translation: "bitter").
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concept-word-nigai-ja —is_presented_as→ "『[派生]にがさ［名］にがみ［名］』 (in translation: "[Derivatives] nigasa [noun], nigami [noun]")."Scope: Digital Daijisen, 「苦み／苦味」 (nigami; in translation: "bitterness"), sense 1 — headword nigami, as republished by Kotobank
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concept-word-nigai-ja —is_defined_in_dictionary_as→ "『苦いこと。苦い味。苦い度合い。』 Example: 「―の強いコーヒー」 (in translation: "Being bitter; a bitter taste; the degree of bitterness." Example: "coffee with strong bitterness")"Scope: Digital Daijisen, 「苦み／苦味」 (nigami; in translation: "bitterness"), sense 2 — headword nigami, as republished by Kotobank
Note: The dictionary includes a quotation from Tokutomi Roka’s 「不如帰」 (Hototogisu) as an example.
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concept-word-nigai-ja —is_defined_in_dictionary_as→ "『不愉快な心持ち。つらい心情。』 (in translation: "An unpleasant or painful feeling"). Quotation: 「万の感情はさらりと消えて、唯―のみ残りしなり」 (in translation: "All feelings vanished; only bitterness remained"), from 〈蘆花・不如帰〉 (Roka, Hototogisu)."Scope: Digital Daijisen, nigami ("bitterness"), sense 3 — headword nigami, as republished by Kotobank
Note: A usage in which a taste word is repurposed to evaluate a person's looks.
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concept-word-nigai-ja —is_defined_in_dictionary_as→ "『渋さを含んでひきしまった感じのすること。男性の顔つきにいう。』 Example: 「―のきいた、渋い二枚目」 (in translation: "Having a firm, composed look with a touch of astringency; said of a man's face." Example: "a leading man with nigami [a bitter edge], handsomely austere")"Scope: Digital Daijisen, nigami ("bitterness"), supplementary note field, as republished by Kotobank
Note: The dictionary states explicitly that the kanji spelling of nigami is an ateji (a character chosen for its sound rather than its meaning).
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concept-word-nigai-ja —has_name_etymology→ "『[補説]「味」は当て字。』 (in translation: "[Supplementary note] The kanji mi [\"taste\"] is an ateji [a phonetic substitute character].")"Scope: Digital Daijisen, 「苦味（くみ）」 (kumi; in translation: "bitter taste"), definition — headword kumi, as republished by Kotobank
Note: The headword is read 「くみ」 (kumi; in translation: "bitter taste") and listed separately from 「にがみ」 (nigami; in translation: "bitterness").
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concept-word-nigai-ja —is_defined_in_dictionary_as→ "『苦い味。にがみ。』 (in translation: "A bitter taste; bitterness")."Scope: Digital Daijisen, definition of 「苦虫を噛み潰したよう」 (in translation: "as if one had crushed a bitter insect in one’s mouth"), as republished by Kotobank
Note: An idiom linked to sense 2 (displeased, bitter-faced) of 「苦い」 (nigai; in translation: "bitter").
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concept-word-nigai-ja —is_presented_as→ "『苦虫を噛み潰したよう－ひどくにがにがしい顔をするようす。不愉快そうな顔つき。』 (in translation: "As if one had crushed a bitter insect in one’s mouth—an expression of extreme displeasure; an unhappy-looking face")."Scope: Digital Daijisen, definition of 「苦虫」 (nigamushi; in translation: "bitter insect"), as republished by Kotobank
Note: The dictionary explains 「苦虫」 (nigamushi; in translation: "bitter insect") as an imagined insect assumed to taste bitter if chewed, rather than a real insect.
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concept-word-nigai-ja —has_name_etymology→ "『にが‐むし【苦虫】かめば苦かろうと思われる虫。』 (in translation: "Nigamushi [bitter insect]: an insect imagined to taste bitter if chewed")."