Translation guide
The act of looking for and pointing out faults, often in a critical or petty way. This guide covers how to express faultfinding in Japanese, from common verbs to nuanced phrases.
To express the act of finding and pointing out someone's mistakes or flaws, often in a nagging or petty manner.
The most direct equivalent, meaning 'faultfinding' or 'nitpicking'. Used as a noun or with する.
彼はいつも人の粗探しばかりしている。
He's always finding fault with others.
Alternative kanji/kana form of 粗探し, same meaning.
そんなにあら探しばかりしないで。
Stop nitpicking like that.
Focuses on catching someone in a slip or mistake, often in speech. Implies pouncing on trivial errors.
彼女は私の言葉の揚げ足ばかり取る。
She's always picking on my words.
Idiom meaning 'to pick at the corners of a multi-tiered box', i.e., to nitpick over trivial details. More colorful and less common.
彼は重箱の隅をつつくようなことばかり言う。
He only says things that nitpick at trivial details.
To express dissatisfaction by constantly pointing out what's wrong, often in a whiny manner.
Common phrase for complaining or finding fault. Can be used for both justified and petty complaints.
彼はいつも食事に文句を言う。
He always complains about the food.
More formal than 文句を言う, meaning to voice discontent or grumble.
彼女は給料について不平を言った。
She complained about her salary.
Casual verb meaning to grumble or complain, often to a friend. Derived from 愚痴 (guchi).
To describe a person who habitually finds fault in a harsh or unfair way.
Adjectival noun meaning 'critical'. Used to describe a faultfinding attitude.
彼は私の仕事に批判的だ。
He is critical of my work.
To scold or nag, often about minor faults. Implies a faultfinding manner.
彼はいつも部下に小言を言っている。
He's always nagging his subordinates.
粗探し is general faultfinding or nitpicking, while 揚げ足取り specifically refers to seizing on someone's slip of the tongue or minor mistake in speech to criticize them.
彼の粗探しをするのは簡単だ。
It's easy to find fault with him.
彼女は私の言い間違いの揚げ足を取った。
She picked on my slip of the tongue.
Direct translations like '欠点探し' (kettensagashi) are not idiomatic. Use 粗探し or other natural expressions instead.
Yesterday I was grumbling about my boss the whole time.
Adjective meaning 'nagging' or 'faultfinding', literally 'mouth-noisy'. Used for someone who constantly points out faults.
うちの母は口うるさい。
My mother is always finding fault.