Tokyo phrase
空気読めない (kūki yomenai)
Unable to read the room or understand an unspoken social atmosphere.
Uses your device’s built-in voice. Pronunciation is approximate because available voices and tokyo pronunciation vary.
Meaning
空気読めない literally means unable to read the air and describes someone who misses implicit social cues or the mood of a group.
Pronunciation and grammar
Pronunciation: /kɯː.ki jo.me.na.i/
Part of speech: adjectival phrase
How it is used
It may be shortened to KY in informal speech and online writing.
Register: Informal contemporary Japanese.
Examples in context
- 彼は空気読めないよね。He really cannot read the room.
- その発言はちょっと空気読めない。That comment did not fit the social atmosphere.
Important context
Calling a person this can be judgmental and may oversimplify communication differences.