～がちだ — Prone To It
Expresses that something tends to happen often, usually in an undesirable or negative direction. It describes a habitual leaning or a recurring flaw, not a one-time event. Because the nuance is generally unfavorable, it pairs naturally with things like getting sick, being late, or making mistakes.
Structure
[Verb ます-stem] / [Noun] + がち(だ)
Examples
彼は最近学校を休みがちだ。
Kare wa saikin gakkou o yasumigachi da.
He tends to be absent from school lately.
休み (ます-stem of 休む) + がちだ = has a habit of being absent
冬は運動不足になりがちです。
Fuyu wa undou busoku ni narigachi desu.
In winter people tend to get short on exercise.
なり (ます-stem of なる) + がち shows a recurring seasonal tendency
曇りがちの空を見上げた。
Kumorigachi no sora o miageta.
I looked up at the somewhat cloudy sky.
Noun 曇り + がち modifies 空 with の, meaning 'inclined toward cloudy'
• Nuance: almost always negative or undesirable — avoid it for good outcomes. • Common mistake: attach to the ます-stem, not the dictionary form (×休むがち → ○休みがち). • Use がちの / がちな before a noun.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～がちだ is tested against.
vs ～ぎみ
がちだ describes a repeated habitual tendency over time, while ぎみ describes a slight present state or trace of something ('a bit tired now').
vs ～やすい
がちだ stresses frequent recurrence with a negative slant; やすい simply states something is easy to do or likely to happen, neutral in tone.
More expressions
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