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Why is 口が軽い the opposite of 口が堅い ? It seems interesting to me why 軽い／堅い would be chosen for this phrase.

As far as I know, most of the time phrases that are coupled with 軽い usually have the opposite meaning paired with 重い. I know one case where it is paired with 激しい as in 軽く／激しく運動する.

What would be the reason as to why 口が重い might not be the appropriate choice to use for the opposite phrase of 口が軽い?

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I think we also have 口が重い (but this might not be the opposite of 口が軽い・・・) – Chocolate Jul 24 '12 at 15:42
@Chocolate: That might be a reason then. If 口が重い is already taken and fits a different meaning better.. – Chris Jul 24 '12 at 15:49
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There are actually antonym phrases with 軽い, 重い: 腰が軽い, 腰が重い, 尻が軽い, 尻が重い. However, 尻が軽い also has a more specific sense. And there is also another pair with 軽い, 堅い: 身持ちが軽い, 見持ちが堅い. – sawa Jul 24 '12 at 16:56
@sawa: Do you know a reason why 緩い isn't involved in these comparisons? That seems like a viable opposite of 堅い. – istrasci Apr 9 at 17:41

1 Answer

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Well actually, 口が重い is the opposite of 口が軽い if the meaning is to be talkative. From here (see definition 2)

口が軽い（くちがかるい）　１．言ってはいけないことまで、軽率に喋（しゃべ）りがちである。秘密などを軽々しく話してしまいがちである。また、そういう性格である。　反：■口が堅い　２．良く喋る。多弁である。　反：■口が重い

The idea here is that 口が軽い can mean two things, while 口が堅い and 口が重い only have one meaning respectively. I am assuming that this is because a talkative person can imply that they say "too much" (i.e. says things they shouldn't say). However, a person who can keep a secret, may not necessarily be untalkative. Therefore, it is natural for 口が軽い to have two meanings, while 口が堅い and 口が重い cannot do this.

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Hmm... we don't say 口が軽い to mean someone's talkative/chatty/all mouth, in modern standard Japanese at least... we say 口数[くちかず]が多い or おしゃべりだ instead. We use 口が軽い to refer to someone who has a loose tongue/a big mouth/can't keep secrets (in modern standard Japanese at least). おしゃべりだ can be used to say both "口数が多い" and "口が軽い". So... what I want to say here is, if you're in Japan or talking to Japanese in some other places, I think you should avoid using the phrase like 口が軽いですね to mean "You're (s/he is) talkative", because the hearer would surely take it as "You have (S/he has) a loose tongue". – Chocolate Jul 31 '12 at 5:23
@Chocolate: Good advice and I have to admit "口が軽い" sounds negative. I've always liked the phrase 口から生まれた though :). – Jesse Good Jul 31 '12 at 5:35

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