habit

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 癖 has 18 strokes and concerns recurring habits or quirks.
• Basic usage: 癖 is read くせ, and 口癖 is read くちぐせ.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Behavioral habits and habitual phrases
  • 鉛筆を回す癖 means a habit of spinning a pencil.
  • 早起きの癖 means a habit of waking early, so 癖 does not necessarily imply a bad habit.
  • The 癖 in 口癖 is read ぐせ.
  • 母の口癖 means a phrase one's mother habitually uses.