GESSO-RI げっそり
Meanings
1. Describes suddenly losing vitality, especially looking noticeably thinner and wasted.
2. Describes being thoroughly fed up, disheartened, or drained.
Examples
1. After being ill, my cheeks became hollow and I looked gaunt.
体調を崩して、ほほの肉がげっそり落ちた。
2. I stayed up late watching too much horror and ended up looking completely drained.
夜ふかししてホラーを見すぎて、げっそりしてしまった。
Dogmatic Opinion
GESSO-RI is less about simply losing weight than about looking worn or wasted.
I judge it mainly from the face, especially the cheeks. I would not normally use it for parts of the body below the neck that are not visible in the expression. In that sense, someone could still be overweight from the neck down but look GESSO-RI if their face has suddenly become thin and drawn.
Illness can hollow the cheeks. Severe stress or other negative stimulation can make a person’s face look almost sick.
The strong point of GESSO-RI is that the depletion has become visible in the person’s appearance.
Proximate Expression
gaunt
thin
Related Words
For Japanese Learners
Gaunt, haggard, drawn, visibly thinner, and drained are useful translations. “げっそりした顔” may be a gaunt, haggard, or drawn face. Unlike HOSSO-RI, which can describe an attractively slim appearance, GESSO-RI normally suggests unhealthy or unpleasant depletion.
