せこい（せこい、sekoi）
- stingy

The Japanese word せこいせこい describes someone who is stingy, cheap, or petty. It implies a lack of generosity, a focus on small gains, and sometimes a sneaky or underhanded approach to things. It can also refer to something that is low-quality or poorly made. The nuance often includes a negative judgment of the person or thing being described.

⚫︎あいつはせこいから、いつも割り勘の時に一番少ない金額しか出さないんだ。 Translation: He's stingy, so he always pays the smallest amount when splitting the bill. ⚫︎この店はせこいサービスで、全然おまけしてくれない。 Translation: This shop has stingy service; they don't give any extras. ⚫︎あんなせこいやり方は良くない。 Translation: That kind of petty way of doing things isn't good.

You can use せこいせこい in various situations to describe someone's behavior, actions, or even things. ⚫︎It's commonly used in casual conversations and among friends. ⚫︎You can use it to criticize someone for being cheap, not sharing, or taking advantage of others. ⚫︎It can also describe something as being low-quality or poorly made.

せこい is typically written in hiragana. There isn't a kanji form for it. The okurigana is fixed, and it’s always せこい.

⚫︎ケチ (kechi): Stingy, cheap (more common) ⚫︎しみったれ (sh mittare): Stingy, miserly (often considered a little rude) ⚫︎ずるい (zurui): Sly, cunning, unfair ⚫︎貧乏くさい (binboukusai): Looking or seeming poor (can also mean cheap)

⚫︎太っ腹 (futtobara): Generous, big-hearted (slang) ⚫︎気前がいい (kimae ga ii): Generous ⚫︎太っ腹な (futtobara na): Generous, big-hearted (adjectival)

彼はせこいから、いつも会社の経費で自分のものを買っている。 ・Translation: Because he's stingy, he always buys his own things with company expenses. ・Explanation: This sentence illustrates how せこいせこい is used to criticize someone's unethical or self-serving behavior.

このレストランは量が少ない上に値段が高いから、せこいと感じる。 ・Translation: This restaurant feels cheap because the portions are small and the prices are high. ・Explanation: This shows せこいせこい being used to describe something as being a poor value.

The exact etymology of せこいせこい is not definitively known, but it's likely related to the sense of "small" or "petty."