面倒くさい (mendōkusai or mendokusai) means “troublesome” or “a hassle.” It describes something that feels burdensome to do or deal with. めんどくさい is a common shortened pronunciation, and めんどい is more casual. 面倒を見る has a different sense: to look after someone.
also mendoukusai / mendoi / mendokusagari
a pain · too much trouble · can't be bothered
Sentences
6 sentences, word by word
面倒くさい · plain
plain
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
部屋
へや ［2］
room
noun · a room in a home; 部屋を借りる is to rent a flat
Ask Rikai
の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
Ask Rikai
掃除
そうじ ［0］
cleaning; tidying
noun · 掃除する is the verb, and 洗濯 is the laundry equivalent
Ask Rikai
が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
Ask Rikai
面倒くさい
めんどくさい ［5］
is such a hassle
い-adjective · 面倒 trouble ＋ くさい, reeking of it
面倒くさいN3too much trouble
Ask Rikai
Cleaning my room is such a pain.
〜のが面倒くさい
plain
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
毎日
まいにち ［1］
every day
noun · used adverbially, no particle needed
Ask Rikai
料理
りょうり ［1］
food; cooking
noun · both the activity and the dish that comes out of it
Ask Rikai
を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
Ask Rikai
作る
つくる ［2］
make; cook
godan verb · 料理を作る and 料理する both work — 作る keeps 料理 as the object
Ask Rikai
の
の
the doing of it
nominaliser · turns the verb into something が can mark
Ask Rikai
が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
Ask Rikai
面倒くさい
めんどくさい ［5］
is more trouble than it's worth
い-adjective · 〜のが面倒くさい is the shape you will use most
〜のが面倒くさいN3can't be bothered to —
Ask Rikai
Cooking every day is too much trouble.
めんどくさい · casual, が dropped
plain
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
返事
へんじ ［3］
a reply
noun · 返事する or 返事をする, both fine
Ask Rikai
する
する
doing
irregular verb · plain form, because の needs a plain verb in front of it
Ask Rikai
の
の
doing it
nominaliser · and in casual speech the が after it just disappears
Ask Rikai
めんどくさい
めんどくさい ［5］
is such a drag
い-adjective in kana · the contracted spoken reading of 面倒くさい
めんどくさいN3what a drag
Ask Rikai
なあ
なあ
…honestly
sentence-ending particle · a sigh aimed at nobody in particular
Ask Rikai
Ugh, I really don't want to reply.
面倒 · without くさい
plain
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
この
この
this
determiner · attaches straight to a noun, never この の
Ask Rikai
手続き
てつづき ［2］
procedure; paperwork
noun · the steps an office makes you go through
Ask Rikai
は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
Ask Rikai
面倒
めんどう ［3］
is a nuisance
な-adjective · describes the task, not your feelings about it
面倒N3troublesome
Ask Rikai
だ
だ
is
copula · plain, and the form な-adjectives take as a predicate
Ask Rikai
This paperwork is a nuisance.
面倒を見る · the other idiom
plain
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
子供
こども ［0］
child; children
noun · unmarked for number, so context decides
Ask Rikai
の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
Ask Rikai
面倒
めんどう ［3］
the care of them
noun · in this idiom it has none of its usual negative weight
面倒を見るN3look after someone
Ask Rikai
を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
Ask Rikai
見ている
みている
am looking after
ている of 見る · here an ongoing role rather than a moment of looking
Ask Rikai
I look after the children.
面倒くさかった · plain past
plain past
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
行く
いく ［0］
to go
godan verb · irregular て-form 行って
Ask Rikai
の
の
the going
nominaliser · の is preferred over こと for concrete actions
Ask Rikai
が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
Ask Rikai
面倒くさかった
めんどくさかった
was too much effort
plain past · い-adjectives inflect on their own, no だった
面倒くさかったN3was too much trouble
Ask Rikai
から
から
from; since
particle · a starting point, or a reason
Ask Rikai
断った
ことわった
turned it down
plain past of 断る · godan, so 断り ＋ た becomes 断った
Ask Rikai
I couldn't be bothered to go, so I said no.
Forms
What forms does 面倒くさい take?
Noun ＋ が＋面倒くさい
掃除が面倒くさい. A normal い-adjective: polite 面倒くさいです, past 面倒くさかった (mendokusakatta), negative 面倒くさくない. Never 面倒くさいだ.
Verb ＋ のが＋面倒くさい
料理を作るのが面倒くさい. The most common shape by far — the verb gets nominalised by の so it can be the thing that is a pain. In casual speech the が drops.
面倒な＋Noun
面倒な手続き — a troublesome procedure. Without くさい it is a な-adjective describing the task, and it is the version that is safe in writing.
Person ＋ の＋面倒を見る
子供の面倒を見る — to look after the children. A fixed idiom, entirely positive, and unrelated in tone to everything above it.
Meaning
めんどくさい vs めんどうくさい vs 億劫 — and 面倒 on its own
The う disappears in speech. The full reading is めんどうくさい; almost everyone says めんどくさい, and the accent shifts with it — the drop comes one mora earlier in the short form. Both are written 面倒くさい, so the kanji does not tell you which a writer had in mind. Say the short one.
めんどい is the next contraction down. Casual enough that it belongs with friends and nowhere near an office; めんどくせえ is rougher again and mostly men's speech. These are worth recognising rather than using — a learner reaching for めんどくせえ lands somewhere between funny and rude.
億劫 is the grown-up word for the same feeling.おっくう — the reluctance of not having the energy for something, used where 面倒くさい would be too blunt: 外出するのが億劫だ. It is a Buddhist time-unit compound meaning an unimaginably long stretch of time, which is a fair description of how a small errand feels on the wrong day.
面倒 alone describes the task; 面倒くさい describes you.面倒な手続き is objectively fiddly and can be said to anyone. 面倒くさい reports your own unwillingness, which is why it is the one that gets you in trouble at work. And 面倒を見る — to look after someone — shares the noun and none of the attitude.
Inside the word
面 ＋ 倒 ＋ くさい — reeking of trouble
面 — めん · face, surface, side
Not the physical face — that is 顔 — but the surface or aspect of a thing: 表面 a surface, 場面 a scene, 面接 an interview, two people facing each other. It is also the mask in 能面, a Noh mask.
倒 — とう · fall over, topple
A person 亻 beside 到, arriving — arriving on the floor. It gives 倒れる to collapse, 倒産 going bankrupt, 圧倒 to overwhelm. In 面倒 the two characters are a sound fit rather than a meaning fit — one long-standing account traces the word to 目痛い, painful to the eye. Take the kanji as spelling, not as explanation.
くさい — the suffix doing the work
臭い on its own means smelly. Attached to another word it means “reeks of”: 嘘くさい fishy, 古くさい dated, 照れくさい awkward. So 面倒くさい is a thing that smells of hassle from across the room. The full めんどうくさい drops after its sixth mora; the everyday めんどくさい after its fifth.
Watch out
Where 面倒くさい goes wrong
Saying it at work
It reports that you cannot be bothered, which is not a thing to tell a manager or a client. If the task really is fiddly, say 手間がかかります — it takes effort — or 面倒な作業です, which describes the work instead of your attitude to it.
Treating 面倒 and 面倒くさい as one word
面倒な手続き is an observation anyone can make. 面倒くさい is a confession. The くさい is what moves the sentence from the task to the speaker, so drop it whenever you want to stay neutral.
Hearing 面倒を見る as something negative
It means to look after somebody, and it is warm — 面倒見がいい人 is a compliment about someone who takes care of others. Nothing of 面倒くさい carries over into it.
Also asked
Questions people ask about 面倒くさい
What does 面倒くさい (mendokusai) mean?
That something is more trouble than you want to deal with — “what a pain,” “I can't be bothered.” It is built from 面倒, trouble, and the suffix くさい, which means “smells of.” Note what it is not about: difficulty. The job is usually easy; the problem is starting it.
めんどくさい or めんどうくさい — which is correct?
Both, and they are the same word. めんどうくさい is the full reading; めんどくさい drops the う and is what almost everyone actually says. The accent moves with the contraction — the drop lands one mora earlier — and the written form 面倒くさい covers both.
What does めんどい mean?
The same thing, contracted further and distinctly casual: fine with friends, wrong in any workplace. めんどくせえ is rougher again and mostly men's speech. Both are worth recognising in dialogue and manga; neither is worth using until you can hear when other people do.
What's the difference between 面倒 and 面倒くさい?
面倒 describes the task — 面倒な手続き, a fiddly procedure — and is neutral enough to write. 面倒くさい describes your unwillingness to do it. Same root, different subject, and the くさい is what makes it personal.
Is 面倒くさい rude?
Not in itself — people say it about their own chores constantly. It becomes rude when the thing you are calling a hassle is something somebody asked you to do, or something they made. In front of a superior or a customer, switch to 手間がかかる or the more literary 億劫.
What does 面倒を見る mean?
To look after someone — a child, an elderly parent, a new colleague. It is a fixed idiom and entirely positive, despite sharing 面倒 with everything else on this page. 面倒見がいい describes a person who is good at it, and is one of the warmer compliments in the language.
References
Sources and usage notes
Kotobank: 面倒臭い — Defines the burdensome adjective and records the めんどくさい pronunciation.
