ケチ vs. せこい vs. せつやく: Which Is Really Better?

2018年4月27日2021年10月31日

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ケチ vs. せこい vs. 節約せつやく : Which Is Really Better?

The meaning of ケチ,せこい and 節約せつやく is close to each other about money. However, natives know there are different words. After figuring out how to use them, your expression would be expanded. Today, let me introduce how you use ケチ, せこい and 節約せつやく properly.

ケチ (kechi)

Stingy / Cheap / Cheapskate

ケチ can be used as the meaning of a person who is stingy, cheap. a cheapskate and so on. When it comes to money, he/she might be stingy, however, his/her personality is fine. When saying ドケチ, that means “really stingy”.

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Sample

yuka

あの人ひとってドケチだよね。 (That guys’ a real cheapskate.) (那个人极其吝啬。) (그 사람 완전 구두쇠지.) (Người đó keo kiệt nhỉ.)

tatsuya

ケチくさっ！ (What a cheapskate!) (吝啬鬼！) (엄청 짜!) (Bủn xỉn chết đi được!)

yuka

彼女かのじょとデートする時とき、ケチったらだめよ！ (You can’t be stingy when going on a date with your girlfriend.) (和她约会时不要小气！) (여친이랑 데이트 할 때 짜게 굴면 안돼지!) (Khi hẹn hò với người yêu mà bủn xỉn là không được đâu đấy.)

せこい (sekoi)

Small-minded / Freeloader / Cheating

Unlike ケチ, せこい can be used as a person who is small minded and freeloader. Basically, people can be friends with people who are ケチ(stingy) however, they don’t wanna be friends with a person who is せこい(small-minded).

Sample

tatsuya

森もりくんってせこいよね？ (Mori-kun is a small-minded man, is he?) (小森很狡猾吧。) (모리는 속이 좁쌀 같지.) (Cậu Mori tiết kiệm nhỉ.)

yuka

せっこ〜！ (What a small minded!) (好狡猾。) (째째해~) (Bủn xỉn thế~)

tatsuya

ケチならまだしも、せこい人ひとたちは好すきじゃないな。 (I don’t even care about stingy but, I don’t like small-minded people.) (小气还好啦总好过那种另人讨厌的狡猾之人。) (구두쇠면 몰라도 속 좁은 사람은 안좋아해.) (Bủn xin là một chuyện, ngay cả người tiết kiệm cũng không thích đâu.)

節約せつやく (setsuyaku)

Frugal / Save money / Economizing

節約せつやく doesn’t have the negative meaning such as ケチ and せこい. Rather 節約せつやく can be used as the positive meaning by natives. A person who buy only things that he/she just needs and has a goal of buying something that is pretty expensive.

Sample

tatsuya

斎藤さいとうさんは節約家せつやくかだね。 (Saito is frugal.) (斋藤是一个很节约的人。) (사이토씨는 절약의 달인이네.) (Saito là chuyên gia tiết kiệm nhỉ.)

yuka

北海道旅行ほっかいどうりょこうのために節約せつやくしてるんだ。 (I’m saving up for my trip to Hokkaido.) (我是为了在北海道旅行而存钱的。) (홋카이도 여행을 위해 절약하고 있어요.) (Tôi đang tiết kiệm để đi du lịch ở Hokkaido đấy.)