Translation guide
The English word 'tickle' can refer to the physical sensation, the act of causing it, or a figurative feeling. This guide covers how to express these in Japanese.
Describing the feeling when someone touches a sensitive part of your body lightly, causing laughter or discomfort.
An i-adjective meaning 'ticklish' or 'feeling ticklish'. Used to describe the sensation.
足の裏がくすぐったい。
The soles of my feet are ticklish.
くすぐったくて笑ってしまう。
It's so ticklish that I can't help laughing.
Similar to くすぐったい, but can also imply a slightly itchy or irritating tickle. Often used in Kansai dialect.
背中がこそばゆい。
My back feels ticklish.
The action of lightly touching someone to cause a tickling sensation.
A godan verb meaning 'to tickle'. Transitive.
弟をくすぐって遊んだ。
I tickled my little brother for fun.
くすぐらないで！
Don't tickle me!
A colloquial, onomatopoeic phrase for tickling, often used with children.
赤ちゃんをこちょこちょしたら笑った。
When I tickled the baby, she laughed.
Describing a person who is sensitive to tickling.
A noun meaning 'a person who is ticklish' or 'someone who hates being tickled'.
彼はくすぐったがりだから、すぐに逃げる。
He's ticklish, so he runs away immediately.
A mild irritation or sensation, often in the throat or nose.
Literally 'a ticklish feeling', used for mild irritation like a tickle in the throat.
喉にくすぐったい感じがある。
I have a tickle in my throat.
An onomatopoeia for an itchy, tickling sensation, often used for nose or throat.
鼻がむずむずする。
My nose tickles.
To cause someone to feel pleased or amused, as in 'tickle someone's fancy'.
An idiom meaning 'to tickle one's heart', i.e., to appeal to someone's emotions or curiosity.
その話は私の好奇心をくすぐった。
That story tickled my curiosity.
Literally 'to make someone laugh', used when something tickles someone's funny bone.
彼の冗談はいつも私を笑わせる。
His jokes always tickle me.
Both mean 'ticklish', but くすぐったい is standard and widely understood. こそばゆい is more common in western Japan and can imply a slightly itchy sensation. In standard Japanese, くすぐったい is safer.
標準語では「くすぐったい」を使う。
In standard Japanese, use 'くすぐったい'.
English often uses 'tickle' as a noun (e.g., 'a tickle in my throat'), but Japanese typically uses adjectives or verb phrases. Avoid directly translating 'tickle' as a noun.
喉がくすぐったい。
I have a tickle in my throat. (natural Japanese)