What it means
がち means that someone or something tends to have an undesirable condition or repeatedly do something undesirable. It commonly describes a tendency rather than a single event. It attaches to nouns and verb masu-stems, and it is often used for conditions such as illness or habits such as forgetting. The form is somewhat formal and is more common in writing or careful speech than in casual conversation.
Usage note
がち usually carries a negative or unfavorable nuance, so it is not a neutral way to describe an ordinary frequent habit. With a noun, it is followed by a copula such as だ or です.
How to use it
病気がちです。
Tend to be ill.
彼は大事な予定を忘れがちです。
He tends to forget important appointments.
病気がちだ。
Tend to be ill.
彼は大事な予定を忘れがちだ。
He tends to forget important appointments.
Example sentences
忙しい時期は、食事が不規則になりがちです。
During busy periods, meals tend to become irregular.
春になると、花粉症の人は目がかゆくなりがちです。
When spring arrives, people with hay fever tend to get itchy eyes.
新入社員は、問題が起きても報告を後回しにしがちです。
New employees tend to put off reporting even when a problem occurs.