Useful Japanese Adjectives

Know these words and their pronunciations

A woman bundled up against the cold with hat and scarf
It was a cold (samui) day.

Paulo Amorim/Getty Images

Here is the list of useful Japanese adjectives and their pronunciations.

big
ookii
大きい

small
chiisai
小さい

long
nagai
長い

short
mijikai
短い

thick, fat
futoi
太い

slender (person)
yaseta
やせた

thin
usui
薄い

wide
hiroi
広い

narrow
semai
狭い

heavy
omoi
重い

light
karui
軽い

high
takai
高い

low
hikui
低い

fast
hayai
速い

slow, late
osoi
遅い

many, much
ooi
多い

few, little
sukunai
少ない

hard
katai
かたい

soft
yawarakai
やわらかい

deep
fukai
深い

shallow
asai
浅い

beautiful
utsukushii
美しい

ugly
minikui
醜い

pretty
kireina
きれいな

cute
kawaii
かわいい

clean
seiketsuna
清潔な

dirty
kitanai
汚い

fast
hayai
速い

slow
osoi
遅い

strong
tsuyoi
強い

weak
yowai
弱い

calm
shizukana
静かな

bright
akarui
明るい

dark
kurai
暗い

new
atarashii
新しい

old
furui
古い

young
wakai
若い

hot
atsui
暑い

cold
samui
寒い

far, distant
tooi
遠い

near
chikai
近い

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Your Citation
Abe, Namiko. "Useful Japanese Adjectives." ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/useful-japanese-adjectives-2027924. Abe, Namiko. (2020, August 28). Useful Japanese Adjectives. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/useful-japanese-adjectives-2027924 Abe, Namiko. "Useful Japanese Adjectives." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/useful-japanese-adjectives-2027924 (accessed March 19, 2024).