手狭|てぜまtezema[0]heiban (flat)

1. na-adjectivenarrow; small; cramped
   この部屋へやはとても手狭てぜまなので、もうこれ以上いじょう家具かぐを置おくのはむりだよ。↗

   This room is very small, so it is impossible to put more furniture in it.

• Synonym狭いせまいNeutralThe most general word for narrow: roads, and even a narrow mind. 「手狭」 is used only when a room or place feels too small to live or work in.
• Synonym狭隘きょうあいWrittenWritten/formal prose: narrow, steep passages, or a narrow-minded attitude. 「手狭」 is about a home or office being too small for use.
• SynonymせせこましいCasualColloquial: a place is cramped and confining, or a person is petty and small-minded. 「手狭」 only says a space is too small to use.
• Synonym狭小きょうしょうWrittenWritten/formal prose for being small and narrow, mostly modifying nouns as in 「狭小住宅」. 「手狭」 stresses feeling cramped in use.
• Related所狭いところせまいWrittenWritten/formal prose, mostly in the adverbial form 「所狭しと」, for things packed full. 「手狭」 means a space is too small for your needs.
• Related狭窄きょうさくWrittenWritten/formal prose, chiefly medical: narrowing of blood vessels or ducts, as in 「狭窄症」. 「手狭」 is about houses and rooms.
• Antonym手広NeutralAntonym: a place is spacious, or a business is run on a broad scale. The opposite of 「手狭」.

For narrow in general, use 「狭い」. Say 「手狭」 when a house or office feels too small, as in 「家が手狭になる」. Medical narrowing is 「狭窄」; for spacious, use 「広い」 or the antonym 「手広」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 部屋へやや場所ばしょが生活せいかつや仕事しごとをする上うえで狭せまいこと。また、そのようなさま。