The kanji 癖癖 primarily means "habit," "peculiarity," or "tendency." It refers to a habitual action, mannerism, or characteristic of a person or thing that is often considered a minor fault or idiosyncrasy. It suggests something that is done repeatedly or consistently, often without conscious thought. It can also describe a particular inclination or liking.

・On-yomi (音読み): ヘキ (heki) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): 癖癖(kuse)

⚫︎彼癖癖はいつも同じように話す。 Translation: He always talks in the same way; he has the same mannerism. ⚫︎子供の癖癖を直すのは難しい。 Translation: It is difficult to correct a child's bad habits. ⚫︎ 彼女は甘いものが大好きで、それが癖癖になっている。 Translation: She loves sweets, and it has become a habit.

The kanji 癖癖 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is "疒" (やまいだれ), which means "sickness" or "illness," indicating something that affects the body. The right side is "辟" (heki/byaku), which originally depicted a type of weapon but later took on the meaning of "avoid" or "turn away." Thus, 癖癖 originally conveyed the idea of a sickness one would "turn away" from or a habit that is hard to overcome, hence "habit" or "tendency".