忙しい

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
忙
いそが
Grade: S
kun’yomi
Alternative spellings
急がしい (uncommon)
急しい (rare)

Derived from verb 急ぐ (isogu, “to hurry, to rush, to hasten”).[1][2][3]

First attested in a text from 850.[4]

By one analysis, this is the verb's 未然形 (mizenkei, “incomplete or irrealis form”) 急が (isoga) plus the adjectivizing suffix しい (-shii, “having that kind of quality”, classical terminal form -shi).

Alternatively, may be derived from the causative. The classical terminal form of the adjective is identical to the classical continuative or infinitive form of the causative verb, which was used in certain constructions to conclude sentences.

  • 急ぐ (isogu, “to rush, to hurry”) → 急がす (isogasu, “to cause to rush, to cause to hurry”) → 急がし (isogashi, “having the quality of causing one to rush or hurry”)

Pronunciation

  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of "忙しい"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 忙しく いそが​しく
いそがし​く
[ìsógáꜜshìkù]
[ìsógáshíꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形) 忙しい いそがし​い [ìsógáshíꜜì]
Attributive (連体形) 忙しい いそがし​い [ìsógáshíꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative 忙しくない いそが​しくない
いそがし​くない
[ìsógáꜜshìkùnàì]
[ìsógáshíꜜkùnàì]
Informal past 忙しかった いそが​しかった
いそがし​かった
[ìsógáꜜshìkàttà]
[ìsógáshíꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past 忙しくなかった いそが​しくなかった
いそがし​くなかった
[ìsógáꜜshìkùnàkàttà]
[ìsógáshíꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal 忙しいです いそがし​いです [ìsógáshíꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive 忙しくて いそが​しくて
いそがし​くて
[ìsógáꜜshìkùtè]
[ìsógáshíꜜkùtè]
Conditional 忙しければ いそが​しければ
いそがし​ければ
[ìsógáꜜshìkèrèbà]
[ìsógáshíꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective

忙(いそが)しい • (isogashii) -i (adverbial 忙(いそが)しく (isogashiku))

  1. [from 850] busy
    Antonym: 暇 (hima)
    彼(かれ)はいつも忙(いそが)しいことを言(い)い訳(わけ)にしている。
    Kare wa itsumo isogashii koto o iiwake ni shite iru.
    He always uses the excuse that he is too busy.
    • c. 1001–1014, Murasaki Shikibu, Genji Monogatari (Otome), text here:
      大(おお)殿(との)も、かやうの御(お)遊(あそ)びに心(こころ)止(と)めたまひて、いそがしき御(ご)政(せい)事(じ)どもをば逃(のが)れたまふなりけり。
      Ōtono mo, kayō no o-asobi ni kokoro tometamaite, isogashiki go-seiji domo o ba nogaretamau narikeri.
      The lord would also kept his attention on this kind of pleasure, and escape from all his busy governmental duties.
  2. [from 1001] restless, fidgety
Inflection

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
忙
せわ
Grade: S
kun’yomi

*⟨sepasi⟩ → /seɸaɕi/ → /sewaɕiki/ → /sewaɕiː/

Cognate with 狭い (sebai), older form of 狭い (semai, “adjective, lacking in space”),[1] expanding on the meaning towards “lacking in time”.

First cited to a text from 1020.[1]

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) せわし​い [sèwáshíꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])[2]
  • IPA(key): [se̞ɰᵝa̠ɕiː]

Adjective

忙(せわ)しい • (sewashii) ←せはしい (sefasii)?-i (adverbial 忙(せわ)しく (sewashiku))

  1. busy, hurried
  2. restless, fidgety
Inflection
Synonyms
Derived terms
  • 忙(せわ)忙(せわ)しい (sewasewashī)

References

  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. “忙しい”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
  4. “忙・急”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  5. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  6. 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
  • 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.
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