Wiktionary

うるさい

Japanese edit

Alternative spellings
煩い
五月蝿い (less common)

Alternative forms edit

  • (informal, terminal or attributive form) うるせえ (urusē)
  • (informal, emphatic, terminal or attributive form) うっせえ (ussē)

Etymology edit

Probably originally a compound of 心 (uru, “heart, mind”, vowel-shifted from regular reading ura, cognate with 裏 (ura, “the behind or inside of something”)) +‎ 狭し (sashi, “tight; narrow”, Classical and Old Japanese, cognate and synonym of modern 狭い (semai)), from the sense that something is so overwhelming that one feels pressured to yield or submit in some way.[1]

The earliest texts used this word to mean something more like "overwhelmed by how completely thorough something is (in a positive sense), or by how excessive and repetitive something is (in a negative sense)".[1][2] Over time, the term was used less and less in a positive sense, and the focus from the late Heian period gradually became a negative sense of oppression and annoyance from something troublesome, repetitive, or overwhelming.[1] Usage then shifted further, such that the term described not the speaker's own internal state, but rather the troublesome quality of the cause of the emotional response.

First cited to works from the early 900s.[1][2]

Pronunciation edit

  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of "うるさい"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) うるさく うる​さく
うるさ​く 		[ùrúꜜsàkù]
[ùrúsáꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形) うるさい うるさ​い [ùrúsáꜜì]
Attributive (連体形) うるさい うるさ​い [ùrúsáꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative うるさくない うる​さくない
うるさ​くない 		[ùrúꜜsàkùnàì]
[ùrúsáꜜkùnàì]
Informal past うるさかった うる​さかった
うるさ​かった 		[ùrúꜜsàkàttà]
[ùrúsáꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past うるさくなかった うる​さくなかった
うるさ​くなかった 		[ùrúꜜsàkùnàkàttà]
[ùrúsáꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal うるさいです うるさ​いです [ùrúsáꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive うるさくて うる​さくて
うるさ​くて 		[ùrúꜜsàkùtè]
[ùrúsáꜜkùtè]
Conditional うるさければ うる​さければ
うるさ​ければ 		[ùrúꜜsàkèrèbà]
[ùrúsáꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective edit

うるさい • (urusai) -i (adverbial うるさく (urusaku))

  1. [late 900s – Kamakura period] overwhelmingly thorough (often in a positive way); excessive, repetitive (in a negative way)
    1. [from early 900s] (by extension from the "thorough" sense) so thoroughly knowledgeable and particular about something as to be annoying to others: picky, nitpicking, fussy
      字(じ)体(たい)にうるさい
      jitai ni urusai
      picky about glyph shape
      味(あじ)にうるさい
      aji ni urusai
      picky about flavor
    2. [from late 900s] pushy, bossy, overly particular and demanding
      うるさい連(れん)中(ちゅう)だ。
      Urusai renchū da.
      Bossy guys.
  2. [early 1000s – ???] excellent of technique (particularly for a performance)
    Synonym: (Classical) うるせし (uruseshi)
  3. [late 1100s – ???] extremely strained, faked, insincere, affected
  4. [from early 1100s] oppressive and annoying in a surrounding and overwhelming way
    Synonyms: 煩わしい (wazurawashii, “troublesome, annoying, irksome, nuisance”), 鬱陶しい (uttoushii, “annoying and oppressive, overtones of depressing”), 喧しい (yakamashii, “oppressively loud, noisy”), うざったい (uzattai), うざっこい (uzakkoi), うざい (uzai)
    1. noisy, loud
      外(そと)がうるさい。
      Soto ga urusai.
      It is noisy outside.
    2. annoying, irritating
  5. [from early 1900s] troublesome, bothersome, irksome (usually in reference to having to do something)
    Synonyms: 面倒 (mendō, “trouble, bother, tiresome”), 煩わしい (wazurawashii, “troublesome, annoying, irksome, nuisance”), うざったい (uzattai), うざっこい (uzakkoi), うざい (uzai)
  6. [from early 1600s] dirty, messy, causing a bad feeling
    Synonyms: 汚い (kitanai), いや (iya), うざったい (uzattai), うざっこい (uzakkoi), うざい (uzai)

Usage notes edit

Inflection edit

Inflection of うるさい
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) うるさかろ urusakaro
Continuative (連用形) うるさく urusaku
Terminal (終止形) うるさい urusai
Attributive (連体形) うるさい urusai
Hypothetical (仮定形) うるさけれ urusakere
Imperative (命令形) うるさかれ urusakare
Key constructions
Informal negative うるさくない urusaku nai
Informal past うるさかった urusakatta
Informal negative past うるさくなかった urusaku nakatta
Formal うるさいです urusai desu
Formal negative うるさくないです urusaku nai desu
Formal past うるさかったです urusakatta desu
Formal negative past うるさくなかったです urusaku nakatta desu
Conjunctive うるさくて urusakute
Conditional うるさければ urusakereba
Provisional うるさかったら urusakattara
Volitional うるさかろう urusakarō
Adverbial うるさく urusaku
Degree うるささ urusasa

Interjection edit

うるさい • (urusai) 

  1. (figuratively) shut up; stop it
    うるさい！
    Urusai!
    You are annoying! / That's annoying! → Shut up! / Stop it!

Descendants edit

  • → Chinese: 無路賽／无路赛 (wúlùsài)

References edit

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 “煩・五月蠅”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “煩い”, in デジタル大辞泉‎[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
  3. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Second edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō
  4. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
  5. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Further reading edit

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