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I know that がち means "tend to..", while 気味 means "to have the feeling, to be a
little..". Like 病気がち, tend to get sick, and 風邪気味, have / feeling like having a
slight cold. But how about this: この時計は遅れ気味だ. Does it means the clock is a
little late? Because if the clock tends to be late, it should be この時計は遅れがち,
right? Thank you!
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2017-01-17T06:33:04.823
42603
2017-01-17T06:53:07.213
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question
grammar expressions
What is the difference between 遅れ気味 and 遅れがち?
Both sentences are correct, but have different meanings.

この時計は遅れ気味だ simply means the clock is currently a little slow. You can just
adjust it to the correct time, and the problem is solved. But depending on the
context, I feel it may mean the same thing as 遅れがちだ described below.

この時計は遅れがちだ only means the clock tends to be slow, i.e., even after adjusting
it. Perhaps you need to replace a battery, or you want to buy a new clock.

Apparently you already know why.
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2017-01-17T06:41:10.333
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2017-01-17T06:46:42.677
2017-01-17T06:46:42.677
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"この時計は遅れ気味だ" just means the static situation that this clock is slighty slow.
So once you correct it, probably it'll work properly.

"この時計は遅れがちだ" means the clock tends to be slow, because of the internal problem
of the clock. So if you correct it, it'll slow again.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-17T06:53:07.213
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2017-01-17T06:53:07.213
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answer