gawky
ぎこちない
解説 Definition
背が高く不恰好で、動きのぎこちない。若い人の無骨で不器用な見た目や動作を指すことが多い。
Gawky describes someone who moves in an awkward, uncomfortable way, often because they are tall, young, or not fully confident. It can also suggest that a person's appearance or behavior seems a little clumsy.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
awkward（ぎこちない）と lanky（ひょろ長い）を合わせて覚えると残りやすい語。gawky は単に clumsy なだけでなく、背や手足が長くて、まだ体を持て余しているような不格好さを含む。特に a gawky teenager のように、成長途中の若者の見た目や動きでよく出る。awkward は場面全体の気まずさにも使えるが、gawky は「見た目・身のこなしがアンバランス」と絞ると区別しやすい。
Think of `gawky` as close to `awkward`, often with the feeling of being tall, long-limbed, and not fully in control of your body. It is common in phrases like `a gawky teenager`. That makes it more specific than `awkward`, which can also describe social situations. Use `gawky` when the body or movement looks unbalanced.
例文
The gawky teenager grew into a graceful young adult.
そのぎこちない十代は優雅な若い大人に成長した。
His gawky movements made him self-conscious in social situations.
彼のぎこちない動きは社会的な場面で彼に自己意識を感じさせた。
The gawky appearance of the young giraffe endeared it to visitors.
若いキリンのぎこちない外観は訪問者を魅了した。
gawky の類義語・関連語
gawky の語源・成り立ち Etymology
gawky は英語方言の gawk「ぼんやり見つめる人、まぬけ者」に形容詞語尾 -y が付いた語です。『口を開けてぽかんと見る人』の感じから、動きや見た目がぎこちない意味になりました。関連語は gawk、gawp です。
Gawky comes from the dialect word gawk, meaning a fool or someone who stares blankly, with the adjective ending -y. That older word is linked to the idea of staring with an open mouth or looking foolish. From that image, gawky came to mean awkward in movement or appearance. A related word is gawp.
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