How to say "negligent" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- na-adjectiveA common word for negligent in the sense of neglectful or remiss: failing to give work, duties, or one's health the attention they deserve. The nuance is carelessness through inattention rather than deliberate refusal.
- 投げやりなげやりna-adjective, nounCovers negligent as an attitude: doing a task in an offhand, throwaway manner because you have stopped caring about the result. Think slipshod, slovenly work rather than simple oversight.
- na-adjectiveA less common near-synonym of おろそか, covering the same sense of treating something as unimportant and failing to give it due attention. For everyday use, おろそか is the word to reach for.
- 杜漏ずろうna-adjective, nounA rare word meaning careless or negligent; in practice it is seldom the word you want, and おろそか is the common choice for ordinary contexts.
- 忘れがちわすれがちna-adjective, no-adjectiveEssentially forgetful or apt to forget: it fits negligent only where the negligence consists of tending to forget things, not in the general sense of careless or neglectful conduct.
Use 「おろそか」 as the default for failing to give something the attention it deserves; 「投げやり」 adds an offhand, slipshod attitude; 「ゆるがせ」 is a less common near-synonym; 杜漏 is rare; 「忘れがち」 covers only forgetfulness-based neglect.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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