JLPT N3 Vocabulary – Difference between “うっかり” and “つい”

Table of Contents

1. Difference between “うっかり” and “つい”
2. うっかり
3. つい
4. Let’s Compare
5. Summary
6. Quiz
7. Similar Articles
8. Comment

Q: What is the difference between “うっかり” and “つい”?

A: Both describe actions that occur from inattentiveness, but they have slight differences in meaning and nuance.

うっかり (JLPT N3)

[Meaning]
①Due to carelessness
②Without realizing it

[Verbs commonly used together]
忘わすれる(forget), 言いう(say), 話はなす(talk), 落おとす(drop), する(do), 乗り過の　すごす(miss (a stop)), 倒たおす(knock over), 壊こわす(break), 寝ねる(sleep)

[Examples]
彼女かのじょの誕生たんじょう日びをうっかり忘わすれていました。（①）
I accidentally forgot her birthday.

うっかり鍵かぎを家いえに置おいてきてしまい、入はいれなくなりました。（①）
I accidentally left my keys at home and couldn’t get in.

うっかり寝ねてしまっていました。（②）
Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

うっかりアレルギーのある食たべ物ものを食たべてしまいました。（②）
Without realizing it, I ate something I’m allergic to.

“うっかり” describes mistakes or accidents that happen due to carelessness or without realizing it.

[Examples]
会議かいぎの時間じかんをうっかり忘わすれていました。
I carelessly forgot the time of the meeting.
⇒ This expresses that the meeting time was forgotten due to carelessness.

降おりる駅えきをうっかり乗り過の　すごしていました。
I didn’t realize it and ended up missing my stop.
⇒ This conveys that the intended station was passed without noticing.

つい (JLPT N3)

[Meaning]
①Unconsciously
②Doing something even though that wasn’t the intention

[Verbs commonly used together]
言いう(say), 話はなす(talk), 食たべる(eat), 買かう(buy), 見みる(see), 使つかう(use), 笑わらう(laugh)

[Examples]
楽たのしくてつい時間じかんを忘わすれていました。（①）
I was having so much fun that I lost track of time.

ダイエット中ちゅうだけど、お菓子かしを見みるとつい食たべてしまいます。（①）
Even though I’m on a diet, I can’t help but eat sweets when I see them.

社長しゃちょうの真面目まじめな話はなしがおもしろくて、つい笑わらってしまいました。（②）
The president’s serious talk was so amusing that I couldn’t help but laugh.

仕事しごとでミスをしたとき、ついうそをついてしまいました。（②）
When I made a mistake at work, I ended up telling a lie without thinking.

“つい” expresses actions done unconsciously or on impulse, even when there was no intention to do so.

[Examples]
このおかしがおいしくて、いつもつい食たべすぎてしまいます。
This snack is so delicious that I always overeat without meaning to.
⇒ This indicates that the snack is eaten without thinking.

笑わらってはいけないと思おもっていたのに、つい笑わらってしまいました。
I knew I shouldn’t laugh, but I couldn’t help myself and laughed.
⇒ This conveys that, despite intending not to laugh, laughter happened impulsively.

Let’s Compare

First, let’s consider the difference when this adverb is included or not.

“会議かいぎの時間じかんを忘わすれていた。” VS “会議かいぎの時間じかんをうっかり忘わすれていた。”
The latter emphasizes carelessness or the sense of a mistake.

“笑わらってはいけないと思おもっていたのに、笑わらってしまった。” VS “笑わらってはいけないと思おもっていたのに、つい笑わらってしまった。”
The second version implies resisting the urge to laugh but failing despite knowing it was inappropriate.

Now, let’s look at how the nuance changes in these cases:

[Examples]
うっかりひみつを話はなしてしまいました。
I carelessly revealed the secret.
VS　
ついひみつを話はなしてしまいました。
I ended up revealing the secret without meaning to.

“うっかり” expresses that it happened out of carelessness, while “つい” suggests an inability to resist, even though revealing it was unintended.

Finally, which expression is more suitable in this case?

[Examples]
おいしそうなにおいがするおかしをうっかり食たべてしまった。
I carelessly ate the delicious-smelling snack.
VS　
おいしそうなにおいがするおかしをつい食たべてしまった。
I couldn’t resist and ended up eating the delicious-smelling snack.

Here, “つい” is more natural, as it conveys that the tempting aroma was an external factor making it difficult to resist. In situations where an external trigger leads to acting unintentionally, “つい” is a more fitting expression.

Summary

[うっかり]

• Describes mistakes or accidents that happen due to carelessness or without realizing it.
• Emphasizes unintended errors or failures due to lack of awareness.

[つい]

• Refers to actions done unconsciously or without meaning to, often expressing behavior that occurred impulsively despite initial intentions.
• It is also used to describe actions that are hard to resist due to external factors.

Quiz

Read the following sentence and choose the expression that fits the context from the options provided in the parentheses.

Click on the question to check the answer.

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