がち details
write + prone to
kaki gachi
prone to; tends to (usually a negative pattern)
meaning: tend to write
大事な約束を忘れがちなので、手帳にメモするようにしている。
daiji na yakusoku o wasure gachi na node, techou ni memo suru you ni shite iru.
I tend to forget important appointments, so I make a point of noting them in my planner. neutral
子供の頃は病気がちで、よく学校を休んでた。
kodomo no koro wa byoukigachi de, yoku gakkou o yasundeta.
As a kid I was sickly and often missed school. casual
- past
- polite
Examples
prone to N; tends to V — a recurring, usually unwelcome pattern over some stretch of time
大事な約束を忘れがちなので、手帳にメモするようにしている。
daiji na yakusoku o wasuregachi na node, techou ni memo suru you ni shite iru.
I tend to forget important appointments, so I make a point of noting them in my planner. neutral
子供の頃は病気がちで、よく学校を休んでた。
kodomo no koro wa byoukigachi de, yoku gakkou o yasundeta.
As a kid I was sickly and often missed school. casual
曇りがちな天気が一週間ほど続く見込みです。
kumorigachi na tenki ga isshuukan hodo tsuzuku mikomi desu.
Overcast weather is expected to continue for about a week. formal
このところ残業続きで、家族との時間が少なくなりがちだ。
kono tokoro zangyou tsuzuki de, kazoku to no jikan ga sukunaku narigachi da.
With the overtime lately, I've been ending up with less and less time for my family. neutral
一人暮らしだと、野菜が不足しがちなんだよね。
hitorigurashi da to, yasai ga fusokushigachi na n da yo ne.
When you live alone, you tend to end up not eating enough vegetables, you know. casual
Formation
N（病気[びょうき]・曇[くも]り・遠慮[えんりょ]など）＋がちattaches to noun phrase (schematic){V-masu-stem}がちattaches to ます-stem
Notes
dated/marginal. The verb row is broadly productive (ありがち, しがち, 忘れがち,
使いがち) — even つい食べがち circulates, so 食べる stays open, not excluded.
Related patterns
Similar
だらけ reports a QUANTITY of something negative saturating a state right now — mass or countable alike (泥[どろ]だらけ "covered in mud", 間違[まちが]いだらけ "full of mistakes"), while がち reports a recurring BEHAVIORAL TENDENCY over time (病気[びょうき]がち "prone to getting sick") — one is a snapshot of built-up quantity, the other a pattern of frequency.
気味 marks a slight degree of a tendency present right now (疲[つか]れ気味[ぎみ] "a bit worn out currently"), while がち marks a habitual tendency recurring over a longer stretch (疲[つか]れがち "tends to get worn out, as a pattern") — 気味 is a momentary reading, がち a repeated one.
Both read as "prone to X," but っぽい judges an inherent, general character trait true across situations (忘[わす]れっぽい人[ひと] "a forgetful person"), while がち names a recurring lapse over a specific recent stretch with no character judgment (最近[さいきん]忘[わす]れがちだ "I've been forgetful lately").