〜がち vs 〜ぎみ: 'Tend To' / 'A Bit' (N3 Grammar)
How often, not how much
The quickest way to keep these apart is to ask what each one is measuring. 〜がち measures frequency: it names a tendency, something that happens again and again or that you're prone to, and the nuance is almost always negative — a habit, a weakness, an unfortunate pattern. 〜ぎみ measures degree: a little bit of something, a faint sign of it, "-ish" — a mild state you're in right now, not a count of how often it occurs.
弟は学校を休みがちだ。
おとうとは がっこうを やすみがちだ。
My little brother tends to miss school a lot.
休みがち = a frequent tendency to be absent.
ヤッタンは少し疲れぎみだ。
ヤッタンは すこし つかれぎみだ。
Yattan is a little on the tired side.
疲れぎみ = slightly tired, just now.
冬は曇りがちな天気が続く。
ふゆは くもりがちな てんきが つづく。
In winter, cloudy-tending weather continues.
曇りがち = often cloudy; がちな + noun.
Attaching them to a noun or verb stem
The two share their grammar exactly, which is why they're so easy to mix up in the first place. Both hang off a noun or a verb's ます-stem, and once attached, both behave like a noun / な-adjective — がちだ, がちな + noun, ぎみだ, ぎみな + noun.
| Pattern | Attaches to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun + がち | noun | 病気がち (prone to illness) |
| ます-stem + がち | drop ます | 忘れる → 忘れがち (tends to forget) |
| Noun + ぎみ | noun | 風邪ぎみ (a touch of a cold) |
| ます-stem + ぎみ | drop ます | 太る → 太りぎみ (a bit on the heavy side) |
| + な + noun | either | 遅れがちな電車 / 緊張ぎみな声 |
| + だ／です | either | 曇りがちだ / 疲れぎみです |
Both endings, side by side
With identical attachment rules, the only thing telling these apart is meaning. Watch how each pair of sentences leans — the がち ones report a recurring pattern, the ぎみ ones a passing state:
最近、ヤッタンは宿題を忘れがちです。
さいきん、ヤッタンは しゅくだいを わすれがちです。
Lately, Yattan tends to forget his homework.
忘れがち = a recurring habit.
このバスは朝、遅れがちだ。
このバスは あさ、おくれがちだ。
This bus tends to run late in the mornings.
遅れがち = often delayed.
モチは今日、緊張ぎみだった。
モチは きょう、きんちょうぎみだった。
Mochi was a bit nervous today.
緊張ぎみ = slightly tense, in this moment.
先生は最近、太りぎみだと笑っていた。
せんせいは さいきん、ふとりぎみだと わらっていた。
The teacher laughed that he'd gotten a little chubby lately.
太りぎみ = a slight degree, not a frequency.
Same root, opposite reading
The classic test trap drops the same word in front of both endings and lets the reading flip:
- 〜がち answers how often? — a repeated tendency: 病気がちな子 ("a child who often gets sick"). It implies this happens again and again.
- 〜ぎみ answers how much? — a slight degree right now: 風邪ぎみ ("a bit of a cold"). It implies a small amount, a faint sign.
Put 疲れ on each: 疲れがち = "tends to get tired easily" (a pattern over time), while 疲れぎみ = "a little tired" (your state at this moment). One is a habit; the other is a mild current condition. So when the thing happens repeatedly, reach for がち; when something is only a touch / slightly true, reach for ぎみ. If instead you want a "-ish / -like" resemblance rather than degree or frequency at all, that job belongs to 〜っぽい.
Traps that trip learners up
- Using ぎみ for a frequency. "He often misses school" is a tendency, so it's 休みがち (✓), not 休みぎみ. ぎみ can't carry "again and again."
- Using がち for a slight degree. "I have a touch of a cold" is a mild state, so it's 風邪ぎみ (✓), not 風邪がち. (風邪がち would mean "prone to catching colds" — a different idea!)
- Forgetting they act like nouns/な-adjectives. Before a noun you need な: 曇りがちな空 (✓), not 曇りがち空. And the plain ending is がちだ / ぎみだ.
- Putting がち on a happy fact. がち leans negative. 元気がち is unnatural; for an upbeat tendency, just say よく〜する instead.
The short version
- 〜がち = a frequent tendency (how often), usually undesirable: 忘れがち, 曇りがち, 休みがち.
- 〜ぎみ = a slight degree right now (how much): 風邪ぎみ, 疲れぎみ, 太りぎみ.
- Both attach to a noun or ます-stem and then act like a noun / な-adjective (がちな, ぎみな, がちだ, ぎみだ).
- Same root, different meaning: 疲れがち (tends to tire) vs 疲れぎみ (a bit tired).
Practice it
Choose 〜がち (frequent tendency) or 〜ぎみ (slight degree).
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
学生は時間を浪費し＿＿＿である。
Frequently asked questions
What's the core difference between がち and ぎみ?
がち marks a frequent tendency (how often something happens), usually negative: 忘れがち ('tends to forget'). ぎみ marks a slight degree right now (how much): 疲れぎみ ('a little tired').
What do がち and ぎみ attach to?
Both attach to a noun or a verb's ます-stem: 病気がち, 忘れがち, 風邪ぎみ, 太りぎみ. After attaching, they behave like a noun or な-adjective.
How do I use them before a noun?
Add な: 曇りがちな天気 ('cloudy-tending weather'), 緊張ぎみな声 ('a slightly nervous voice'). The plain sentence-ending form is がちだ / ぎみだ.
Is がち always negative?
Almost always. It describes an unfortunate or undesirable tendency (忘れがち, 遅れがち, 休みがち). For a positive 'often does,' use よく〜する instead.
Where 〜がち vs 〜ぎみ fits
Don't confuse it with
- 〜っぽい · N3 — 〜っぽい adds a '-ish/-like' nuance: 子供っぽい (childish), 忘れっぽい (forgetful), 安っぽい (looks cheap). Learn the noun and verb-stem patterns, the い-adjective conjugation, and the critical tone.
- 〜らしい · N4 — らしい has two jobs: hearsay/inference from solid info ('apparently it'll rain') and a 'typical of / -like' suffix (男らしい = manly). Learn formation and how it differs from そうだ and ようだ.
More N3 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜がたい — 〜がたい attaches to a verb stem to mean 'hard to' — really 'almost impossible to.' Learn the formation, the abstract/formal nuance, and how it differs from 〜にくい.
- 〜代わりに — 〜代わりに has two senses: 'instead of / in place of' (砂糖の代わりにはちみつ) and 'in exchange for / to make up for' a trade-off (給料は高い代わりに仕事がきつい).
- 決して〜ない — 決して + a negative means 'never' or 'by no means' — a strong, emphatic denial or firm resolve. Learn the formation, the obligatory negative, and how it differs from めったに and 全然.
- 〜きる — 〜きる attaches to a verb stem to mean do completely or finish entirely: 食べきる, 使いきる, 疲れきる. Learn the forms, the negative 〜きれない, and common mistakes.
- 〜っけ — 〜っけ is a casual sentence-final particle for confirming or recalling something half-forgotten: 明日は休みだっけ？ Learn how to attach it (だ/た + っけ) and when not to.
- 〜ことがある — Dictionary/ない-form verb + ことがある means 'sometimes' or 'there are times when' — an occasional event. Learn the formation, frequency adverbs, and how it differs from た-form ことがある (experience).