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だるい darui
Even my bones are tired.
What does darui mean?
Not ill, just heavy all over. Rainy mornings, Mondays, the hour after a very large lunch.
Example
雨の日はなんかだるい。
Rainy days just make me sluggish.
Vibe
Who you can say this to, and how it lands.
Friends only Casual. Natural with friends, out of place at work or with strangers.
The story behind darui
Darui is old. It is usually traced back to a classical word for slack or loosened, the way a rope goes when nobody is holding it, and that image survives intact: the body has not broken, it has simply stopped being taut.
The crucial thing is that it is not an illness word. You can be perfectly healthy and thoroughly darui, and rain, humidity, Mondays and large lunches are all recognised causes. There is even a related expression for a person who hangs around bothering you in a limp, low-energy way. Complaining about it is a national pastime, and admitting it is socially much easier than admitting you simply do not want to.
Get darui in your pocket
だるい is one of 308 words in YABAI, a Japanese culture snack for Android. Every word comes with its meaning, an example sentence, a vibe check and a story like the one above — in 13 languages, read aloud by your device. Paid app: no ads, no sign-up, no subscription.
