きもい (kimoi)

What it means

1. 1.

   Creepy; gross; skin-crawling. Much harsher than 'gross' in English when aimed at a person — a standard piece of schoolyard cruelty.

   Directed at someone it is a serious insult about their body or manner. Applied to a bug or a texture it is unremarkable.

Examples with translations

• この虫きもい。

  That insect is revolting.

• そういう言い方、ちょっときもいよ。

  Saying it like that is honestly a bit creepy.

Where it comes from

Clipped from 気持ち悪い (kimochi warui), 'unpleasant feeling'. The full form is neutral enough to describe seasickness; the clipped form is almost always a judgement of a person.

Other forms

Romanised as:

kimoi

Spellings and variants:

キモい, きめー