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Yomi
ありがためいわく
Rōmaji
arigata meiwaku
Type
idiom
Literal Meaning
helpful nuisance
Meaning
unpleasant favour
Synonym
お節介, 首を突っ込む, 大きなお世話
Additional Info
ありがたい (“helpful, beneficial, precious”) + 迷惑 (めいわく, “nuisance”). It usually contains a sarcastic connotation.
It is a synonym of お節介; the minor difference is that while ありがた迷惑 describes someone’s favour with a bit of irony, お節介 describes your annoyance like “That’s is none of your business”.
Example
彼女が親切にも部屋の掃除してくれたけど、物がどこにあるかわからなくなったし、正直ありがた迷惑だわ
My girlfriend kindly cleaned my room, but that was honestly an unwelcome favour because now I don’t know where all my stuff is.
母親がよく大量のお菓子を送ってくるけれど、あんまり好みのお菓子じゃないし、ありがた迷惑だなー。
My mom often sends me lots of snacks, but that is an unwelcome favour because they are not my favourite.