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口癖 kuchiguse
The phrase someone always says.
What does kuchiguse mean?
A verbal habit: the line that falls out of a person's mouth so often it becomes part of them. Friends imitate it, families inherit it, and you're usually the last to notice your own.
Example
「まあいっか」が父の口癖だ。
"Ah well, never mind" is my dad's catchphrase.
Vibe
Who you can say this to, and how it lands.
Safe to use Fine in ordinary conversation.
The story behind kuchiguse
Mouth plus habit. A kuchiguse isn't a catchphrase you chose; it's the filler, the sigh, the little verdict that leaks out before you think. Japanese friend groups treat them as free material — imitate someone's kuchiguse and everyone knows instantly who you mean.
They also travel. Children pick up a parent's phrasing, couples end up sharing one, and new employees start echoing their manager within months. There's a whole shelf of self-help books built on the idea that swapping a negative kuchiguse for a brighter one reshapes your outlook, which says a lot about how seriously the habit is taken.
Get kuchiguse in your pocket
口癖 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.
