Japanese

How do you say it's such a hassle in Japanese?

When something bothers you, or you just don't want to do something, you can say "it's such a hassle..." in English.

In Japanese, you can say めんどうくさい (mendou-kusai) for these situations!

Such a hassle / めんどうくさい

めんどうくさい (mendou-kusai) is often used to say “such a hassle.” This is a useful word you can use for a thing, situation, or a person.
For example, your homework is always a pain in the butt. You want to do something else, like hanging out with friends or watching a drama or an anime, but you have to do your homework.
When you have homework you don't want to do, you can say something like this:

Sentence

J) 宿題(が)めんどうくさい。
shukudai (ga) mendou-kusai.
E) This homework is such a hassle.

Point

When you say めんどうくさい, you don't have to pronounce the う(u). It is more natural for Japanese people to say めんどくさい (mendokusai) in conversation.

Things like homework or cleaning can bother you, but sometimes people might, too.
You can say めんどうくさい for a person who annoys you, too.

Sentence

J) あの人(は)めんどうくさい。
  anohito (wa) mendou-kusai.
E) That guy is annoying.

If you feel like something or someone is super annoying, you add すごい (means “very”) before めんどうくさい.

Sentence

J) この仕事(は)すごいめんどうくさい。
konoshigoto (wa) sugoi mendou-kusai
E) My job is a real pain in a butt.

Natural reactions when saying めんどうくさい

When someone asks you to do something annoying, like homework or cleaning, it is natural to say え~ as a reaction phrase before saying 面倒くさい.

Justina
お皿洗いやってくれる?
Could you do the dishes?

え~...めんどうくさい。
Whaaat… That’s such a hassle.
Atsuya

We shared about Japanese reaction words and phrases in another article. Check it out if you are interested in it!

Various way to say めんどうくさい

Japanese people sometimes shorten words in spoken language.

Shortened words of めんどうくさい

  • めんど (mendo)
  • めんどい (mendoi)
  • めんどくさ (mendokusa) or めんどくせ (mendokuse)
  • まじメンディー (maji mendii) : popular slang on social media 

If you just say めんど (mendo), Japanese people can understand that something is a hassle for you.
These words are not formal, so mostly Japanese youths are using these words in conversation. You can use these words in spoken language, but you should not use in formal situations!

Sleepy...Super Sleepy...
My job is such a hassle😫

Going school is such a hassle🥺🥺🥺
I DON'T WANNA GOOOOOOOOOOO!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Good morning
I have to go to work!
Such a hassle
But I'll do my best!

The etymology of めんどうくさい

めんどうくさい is divided into めんどう (mendou) and くさい (kusai).
めんどう means something annoying, くさい is a word to emphasize めんどう.

It is said that めんどう comes from めだうな. In classic Japanese, だうな means "in vain." め is eye. So, めだうな means ”Something not even worth looking at.”
It then changed to めんどう, and the meaning changed to mean something annoying. 

Summary

How to say such a hassle in Japanese

  • めんどうくさい (mendoukusai) : such a hassle
  • You don't pronounce the う (u). It is more natural to say めんどくさい (mendokusai).
  • Japanese people can understand it with just めんど (mendo)
  • You can also say めんど、めんどい、めんどくさ、まじメンディー
  • It is originated from めだうな which means ”Something not even worth looking at.”

-Japanese
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