陰気|いんきinki[0]heiban (flat)

1. na-adjective, noungloomy; dismal; miserable; melancholy
   その家いえは見みかけがたいへん陰気いんきだった。↗

   The house looked very dismal.
2. nounspirit of yin

• Synonym湿っぽいしめっぽいNeutralCovers both dampness and a mawkish mood, as in 「湿っぽい話」; it leans toward a tearful, sentimental air. 「陰気」 is gloom and lack of cheer.
• Synonym暗いくらいNeutralThe most versatile: dim light, dark colours, or a gloomy mood. For a gloomy person it is roughly interchangeable with 「陰気」, but far more everyday.
• Synonym憂鬱ゆううつNeutralFocuses on your own low spirits and lack of motivation, as in 「月曜日が憂鬱だ」. 「陰気」 evaluates the gloom a person or place gives off.
• SynonymうっとうしいNeutralGloomy and oppressive, as in the rainy season, but also plain annoying about people or chores. It carries irritation; 「陰気」 has no such nuance.
• Synonym陰鬱いんうつWrittenWritten-style word for a gloomy mood or scene, heavier than 「陰気」, which more often evaluates a person's character or the air of a place.
• Synonym陰気くさいいんきくさいCasualColloquial; adds a disdainful, off-putting edge to the gloominess, often criticizing a person or place. 「陰気」 is the more objective description.
• Synonym気鬱きうつWrittenWritten word for your own mood feeling stuck and heavy — an inner state. 「陰気」 describes the gloomy impression someone or something gives off.
• Synonym暗鬱あんうつWrittenLiterary word for a dark, heavy mood or scene, as in 「暗鬱な空」. For everyday gloominess, 「陰気」 or 「暗い」 is the natural choice.
• Synonym陰々滅々いんいんめつめつWrittenFour-character word, usually 「陰々滅々とした」; its gloom is far heavier than 「陰気」, with a mournful, dispiriting feel.
• Synonym辛気臭いしんきくさいCasualColloquial, with a Kansai flavour: dreary and irritating, and also tedious, dragging work or people. 「陰気」 means only gloom, with no note of annoyance.
• Synonym沈鬱ちんうつWrittenLiterary word for a heavy, depressed state of mind, as in 「沈鬱な表情」; heavier than 「陰気」 and used mostly of expressions and demeanour.
• Synonym憂いういWrittenAn old-fashioned word for sorrow and unhappiness, rarely heard today. For everyday gloominess, say 「陰気」 or 「暗い」.
• Related薄暗いうすぐらいNeutralRefers to faint light where things are hard to see — a matter of brightness. 「陰気」 is about a gloomy personality or atmosphere; 「陰気な部屋」 stresses the oppressive feel.
• Related重苦しいおもくるしいNeutralFor an atmosphere or weather so oppressive it weighs on you — the stress is on that stifling pressure. 「陰気」 stresses darkness and lack of cheer.
• Related重いおもいNeutralVery broad: physical weight, but also a heavy heart, as in 「気分が重い」. It does not specifically mean a gloomy character or atmosphere.
• Related重たいおもたいNeutralMeans heavy in weight, but also a heavy atmosphere, as in 「重たい空気」 — the stress is on the oppressive feel. 「陰気」 stresses dark gloominess.
• RelatedやるせないNeutralDescribes misery with no way to vent it — helpless and wistful, an inner feeling. 「陰気」 is the gloominess you show on the outside.
• Related物寂しいものさびしいNeutralA nameless loneliness and desolation, often for autumn scenery or empty places; the stress is on loneliness. 「陰気」 stresses gloom and lack of cheer.
• Related物憂げものうげWrittenA na-adjective, as in 「物憂げな顔」: a weary, melancholy look on someone's face. 「陰気」 leans toward a gloomy character or atmosphere.
• RelatedわびしいNeutralDreary, forlorn and shabby, with nothing to console you, as in 「侘しい暮らし」. 「陰気」 stresses gloom alone, without that shabby, lonely nuance.
• Relatedうら悲しいうらがなしいWrittenA faint, vague sadness with a literary flavour — light sorrow rather than gloom. 「陰気」 is about being gloomy, not necessarily sad.
• Related寒々しいさむざむしいNeutralSuggests something looks cold, bleak and bare, as in 「寒々しい部屋」. 「陰気な部屋」 instead stresses dimness and an oppressive feel.
• Related憂いういWrittenAn old-fashioned word for sorrow and unhappiness, rarely heard today. For everyday gloominess, say 「陰気」 or 「暗い」.
• Related気が重いきがおもいNeutralA set phrase for dreading a task, feeling heavy-hearted about doing it — your own mood only. It does not describe people or places.
• Related物憂いものういWrittenLanguid and listless for no clear reason, as in 「物憂い午後」. 「陰気」 is plain gloominess, with no nuance of weariness.
• Related物悲しいものがなしいNeutralA sadness with no clear cause, as in 「物悲しい曲」. 「陰気」 stresses gloominess and does not necessarily imply sadness.
• Antonym陽気ようきNeutralCheerful in character and lively in atmosphere, as in 「陽気な人」 — the direct opposite of 「陰気」 on that axis. It can also mean the weather.
• Antonym明朗めいろうWrittenWritten-style word for a bright, open personality, as in 「明朗な性格」 — opposite to 「陰気」 in that sense. It can also mean clear and fair, as of accounts.

Use 「陰気」 for a gloomy, uncheerful person or place; in daily speech 「暗い」 is the more common choice. For your own low mood say 「憂鬱」, for an oppressive atmosphere 「重苦しい」, and for gloom that also irritates 「鬱陶しい」. The written words 「陰鬱」「暗鬱」「沈鬱」 sound heavier and more literary; colloquial 「陰気くさい」「辛気臭い」 add a note of distaste. 「物寂しい」「物悲しい」「侘しい」 stress loneliness or sadness rather than gloom. Antonyms: 「陽気」 and, in writing, 「明朗」.

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

1. 暗くらくて晴れ晴はればれしない様子ようす。