# うるさい
## Japanese

* Alternative spellings
* 煩い 五月蝿い (less common)

### Alternative forms

* (informal, terminal or attributive form) うるせえ (urusee)
* (informal, emphatic, terminal or attributive form) うっせえ (ussee)

### Etymology

Probably originally a compound of 心 (uru, “heart, mind”, vowel-shifted from regular reading ura, cognate with 裏 (ura, “the behind or inside of something”)) +‎ 狭し (sashi, “tight; narrow”, Classical and Old Japanese, cognate and synonym of modern 狭い (semai)), from the sense that something is so overwhelming that one feels pressured to yield or submit in some way.
The earliest texts used this word to mean something more like "overwhelmed by how completely thorough something is (in a positive sense), or by how excessive and repetitive something is (in a negative sense)". Over time, the term was used less and less in a positive sense, and the focus from the late Heian period gradually became a negative sense of oppression and annoyance from something troublesome, repetitive, or overwhelming. Usage then shifted further, such that the term described not the speaker's own internal state, but rather the troublesome quality of the cause of the emotional response.
First cited to works from the early 900s.

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) うるさい [ùrúsáꜜì] (Nakadaka –)
* IPA: [ɯ̟ɾɯ̟sa̠i]
* Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「うるさい」
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary :
| Stem forms ||||
| Continuative (連用形) | うるさく | うるさく うるさく | [ùrúꜜsàkù] [ùrúsáꜜkù] |
| Terminal (終止形) | うるさい | うるさい | [ùrúsáꜜì] |
| Attributive (連体形) | うるさい | うるさい | [ùrúsáꜜì] |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | うるさくない | うるさくない うるさくない | [ùrúꜜsàkùnàì] [ùrúsáꜜkùnàì] |
| Informal past | うるさかった | うるさかった うるさかった | [ùrúꜜsàkàttà] [ùrúsáꜜkàttà] |
| Informal negative past | うるさくなかった | うるさくなかった うるさくなかった | [ùrúꜜsàkùnàkàttà] [ùrúsáꜜkùnàkàttà] |
| Formal | うるさいです | うるさいです | [ùrúsáꜜìdèsù] |
| Conjunctive | うるさくて | うるさくて うるさくて | [ùrúꜜsàkùtè] [ùrúsáꜜkùtè] |
| Conditional | うるさければ | うるさければ うるさければ | [ùrúꜜsàkèrèbà] [ùrúsáꜜkèrèbà] |

### Adjective

うるさい • (urusai) -i (adverbial うるさく (urusaku))
* [late 900s – Kamakura period] overwhelmingly thorough (often in a positive way); excessive, repetitive (in a negative way)
** [from early 900s] (by extension from the "thorough" sense) so thoroughly knowledgeable and particular about something as to be annoying to others: picky, nitpicking, fussy
    字(じ)体(たい)にうるさい
       jitai ni urusai
       picky about glyph shape
    味(あじ)にうるさい
       aji ni urusai
       picky about flavor
** [from late 900s] pushy, bossy, overly particular and demanding
    うるさい連(れん)中(ちゅう)だ。
       Urusai renchū da.
       Bossy guys.
* [early 1000s – ???] excellent of technique (particularly for a performance)
    Synonym: (Classical) うるせし (uruseshi)
* [late 1100s – ???] extremely strained, faked, insincere, affected
* [from early 1100s] oppressive and annoying in a surrounding and overwhelming way
    Synonyms: 煩わしい (wazurawashii, “troublesome, annoying, irksome, nuisance”), 鬱陶しい (uttoushii, “annoying and oppressive, overtones of depressing”), 喧しい (yakamashii, “oppressively loud, noisy”), うざったい (uzattai), うざっこい (uzakkoi), うざい (uzai)
** noisy, loud
    外(そと)がうるさい。
       Soto ga urusai.
       It is noisy outside.
** annoying, irritating
* [from early 1900s] troublesome, bothersome, irksome (usually in reference to having to do something)
    Synonyms: 面倒 (mendō, “trouble, bother, tiresome”), 煩わしい (wazurawashii, “troublesome, annoying, irksome, nuisance”), うざったい (uzattai), うざっこい (uzakkoi), うざい (uzai)
* [from early 1600s] dirty, messy, causing a bad feeling
    Synonyms: 汚い (kitanai), いや (iya), うざったい (uzattai), うざっこい (uzakkoi), うざい (uzai)

#### Usage notes

* The annoying, irritating and loud, noisy senses are probably the most common in modern usage.

#### Inflection

Stem forms :
| Imperfective (未然形) | うるさかろ | urusakaro |
| Continuative (連用形) | うるさく | urusaku |
| Terminal (終止形) | うるさい | urusai |
| Attributive (連体形) | うるさい | urusai |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | うるさけれ | urusakere |
| Imperative (命令形) | うるさかれ | urusakare |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | うるさくない | urusaku nai |
| Informal past | うるさかった | urusakatta |
| Informal negative past | うるさくなかった | urusaku nakatta |
| Formal | うるさいです | urusai desu |
| Formal negative | うるさくないです | urusaku nai desu |
| Formal past | うるさかったです | urusakatta desu |
| Formal negative past | うるさくなかったです | urusaku nakatta desu |
| Conjunctive | うるさくて | urusakute |
| Conditional | うるさければ | urusakereba |
| Provisional | うるさかったら | urusakattara |
| Volitional | うるさかろう | urusakarō |
| Adverbial | うるさく | urusaku |
| Degree | うるささ | urusasa |

### Interjection

うるさい • (urusai)
* (figuratively) shut up; stop it
    うるさい！
       Urusai!
       You are annoying! / That's annoying! → Shut up! / Stop it!

#### Descendants

* → Chinese: 無路賽／无路赛 (wúlùsài)

### References

* 1 2 3 4 “煩・五月蠅”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* 1 2 “煩い”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
* ↑ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō
* ↑ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

### Further reading

* "Urusai" entry at the 語源由来辞典 (Gogen Yurai Jiten, “Etymology Derivation Dictionary”, in Japanese)