何の言葉24 気が散る (ki ga chiru)

Hi!

I'm having a tough time now with studying.

Working multiple jobs, exercising, chores and self-care in between, it feels almost impossible to find time to study Japanese.

Even when I sit down and open my workbook, my hands start to reach for my phone.

“I can't concentrate!”

I would say to my friend. It sounds like an excuse, right?

If this happens to you and you're upset about your progress, I'm here to say 大丈夫だよ！

“Life always offers you a second chance. It's called tomorrow.”

Rather than be disappointed in ourselves, let's use this opportunity to learn a new word 😉

What does 気が散る mean?

気が散る means “to be distracted”. Let’s break it down:

気=attention
散る=fall, scatter (eg. when petals of flowers fall off, or spiders scatter away)

So, 気が散る means that your attention isn't focused on one thing, it “scatters to different places”, and therefore, it becomes difficult to concentrate on something.

How to use 気が散る

When we use 気が散る, we usually don’t use subjects like “I” or “you”.

We associate it with the reason for the distraction, or the result caused by 「気が散る」.

For example,

• 工事の音で、気が散って勉強できない。
  ^{（Kouji no oto de, ki ga chitte benkyou dekinai.）} 
  The sound of the construction distracts me from studying.

• 気が散るから、音楽を止めてくれる？
  ^{（Ki ga chiru kara, ongaku wo tomete kureru?）} 
  Can you stop the music? It's distracting.

• 朝は気が散って仕事ができなかった。
  ^{（Asa wa ki ga chitte shigoto ga dekinakatta.）} 
  I couldn’t do my work this morning because I was distracted.

Similar English phrases:

“Distracted”

 💡 How to avoid getting distracted while studying

As a long-time student of 日本語, I know that one of the biggest challenges when studying is avoiding 気が散る.

To not get 気が散る often, here are some tips we’d like to share (that work for us!):

1. 糖分を摂る (toubun wo toru)

   Taking sugar: Japanese people often say this phrase to each other. When they can’t concentrate, having some sugary snack or sweets helps the brain to have energy again and regain focus.

2. 環境を変える (kankyou wo kaeru)

   Changing the environment: Studying in a different place like a cafe, or a different part of your house like the living room can make you feel refreshed with “new” surroundings.

3. ポモドーロテックニックを使う (pomodoro tekkunikku wo tsukau)

   Use Pomodoro technique: This technique is for those who do intense studying so doing intervals of 25 minutes of studying + 5 minutes of rest can help maintain your pace for longer.

If you have any other useful tips, please share with us! 😅

１．気が散るから、あっち行ってよ。
^{（Ki ga chiru kara, acchi itte yo.）}
　You are distracting me, go away.

２．あーだめだ！ここはうるさくて気が散る！
 ^{（A- dame da! Koko wa urusakute ki ga chiru!）}
　Ugh! No! It’s too noisy here, I’m so distracted!

３．テレビをつけて勉強すると、気が散らない？
 ^{（Terebi wo tsukete benkyou suru to, ki ga chiranai?）}
　Aren’t you distracted when the TV is on while you’re studying?

４．今日はなんか気が散るから、レポートを書くのをやめた。
 ^{（Kyou wa nanka ki ga chiru kara, repooto wo kaku no wo yameta.）}
　I’m distracted for some reason today, so I stopped writing the report.

５．勉強中は、気が散らないように、スマホを見えない場所に置いた方がいい。
 ^{（Benkyou chuu wa, ki ga chiranai you ni, sumaho wo mienai basho ni oita hou ga ii.）}
　When studying, you should leave your smartphone where you can’t see it in order to not get distracted.

Similar Japanese phrases:

集中できない（shuuchuu dekinai）