きれい好き（きれいずき、kireizuき）
- neat person

The Japanese word きれい好き (pronounced きれいずき) describes someone who きれい好き, meaning they like cleanliness and are meticulous about tidiness. It implies a preference for things being neat, clean, and well-organized. This person enjoys having a clean environment and actively strives to keep things in order. It's a character trait indicating a positive attitude towards hygiene and order. The word can refer to a person's personality or behavior.

⚫︎ 彼はきれい好きです。 Translation: He is someone who likes cleanliness. ⚫︎ 彼女は部屋をきれい好きに保っています。 Translation: She keeps her room clean. ⚫︎ うちの母親はとてもきれい好きです。 Translation: My mother is very meticulous about cleanliness.

You can use きれい好き to describe a person’s personality or their behavior. For example, if someone always cleans up after themselves, keeps their workspace tidy, or is particular about personal hygiene, you could say they are きれい好き。 It's suitable for both formal and informal conversations. You can use it when discussing someone’s habits or characteristics related to cleanliness and tidiness.

きれい好き is typically written in hiragana. It is made of the adjective きれい (clean, pretty) and the suffix 好き (like, fond of). There are no other ways to write the word in common usage. The okurigana (suffix hiragana) is standard as shown.

⚫︎ 清潔好き（せいけつずき）： Someone who likes cleanliness. This emphasizes hygiene. ⚫︎ 几帳面（きちょうめん）： Meticulous, precise, and orderly. ⚫︎ 整理好き（せいりずき）： Someone who likes organizing. ⚫︎ 片付け好き（かたづけずき）： Someone who likes tidying up.

⚫︎ 不潔（ふけつ）： Dirty, unsanitary. ⚫︎ 不潔好き（ふけつずき）： Someone who likes to be dirty or messy (less common). ⚫︎ だらしない (darashinai): Sloppy, untidy.

彼女はきれい好きだから、いつも家を綺麗にしています。 ・Translation: Because she likes cleanliness, she always keeps the house clean. ・Explanation: This sentence explains why someone takes the effort to keep the house clean, connecting their personality trait of きれい好き to their action.

彼はとてもきれい好きで、服にしわ一つありません。 ・Translation: He is very meticulous about cleanliness, and there isn't a single wrinkle in his clothes. ・Explanation: This sentence highlights the extent of someone's meticulousness, specifically about their clothes, showcasing a high degree of orderliness.

The word きれい好き comes from combining the adjective きれい（clean, beautiful, pretty） with the suffix 好き（suki - like, fond of). The word construction itself simply indicates a liking or fondness for the state of being きれい, that is, clean. This offers the core meaning of きれい好き, the like of cleanness.