甘い（あまい、amai）
- sweet
Romaji:
Japanese:
Kana:
AMA
甘
あま
I
い
い
甘い (あまい, romaji: amai) means "sweet" in Japanese. It is a N5 Mid-level I-Adjective word.
| Meaning: | sweet |
| Level: | N5 Mid |
| Lexical Category: | I-Adjective (イ形容詞) |
Word Images
Related Kanjis
Adjective Conjugation
Basic Conjugation
Dict-form (辞書形) | あまい甘い |
Polite-form (丁寧形) | 甘いです。 |
Connect-form (連用形) | 甘く + <Verb> |
Not-form (否定形) | 甘くない |
Advanced Conjugation
Past-form (過去形) | 甘かった |
Terminal-form (終止形) | 甘い。 |
If-form (仮定形) | 甘ければ |
Noun-form (名詞形) | 甘さ |
AI Explanation
The Japanese word 甘い (あまい) has multiple meanings, all relating to the concept of sweetness, indulgence, or lack of strictness. Its core meaning refers to the taste of sugar or something similar. However, it extends to describe things that are easy, lenient, or naive, similar to the English word "soft". It can also mean "easy on", or "overly indulgent" in certain contexts. The appropriate translation varies greatly depending on the context. Its meaning is primarily related to taste, softness, leniency, and naivety.
⚫︎このケーキは甘いですね。 Translation: This cake is sweet. ⚫︎あの人は甘い考えを持っている。 Translation: That person has a naive way of thinking. ⚫︎彼は子供に甘い。 Translation: He is easy on his children.
This word is used in various contexts. ⚫︎When describing the taste of food and drink (primarily referring to sweetness). ⚫︎When describing someone's character, indicating they are lenient, soft-hearted, or naive. ⚫︎When talking about expectations or judgements being too optimistic or lacking in severity. ⚫︎It can be used to describe someone who is overly indulgent, especially towards others.
⚫︎The word 甘い is primarily written in hiragana as あまい. ⚫︎The kanji form is 甘い. ⚫︎There are no significant variations in okurigana.
⚫︎甘ったるい (あまったるい): cloyingly sweet ⚫︎優しい (やさしい): kind, gentle (can sometimes be a synonym in terms of leniency) ⚫︎寛容な (かんよう な): tolerant (in terms of leniency) ⚫︎甘 (あま): a shorter way to say "sweet".
⚫︎辛い (からい): spicy, salty (in the context of taste) ⚫︎厳しい (きびしい): strict, severe ⚫︎冷酷な (れいこくな): cruel, heartless
このリンゴはとても甘いです。 ・Translation: This apple is very sweet. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the sweet taste of the apple, focusing on its flavor.
試験は甘くなかった。 ・Translation: The exam wasn't easy. ・Explanation: In this case, 甘い is used to mean "easy," meaning the test was difficult.
The kanji 甘 originally depicted a mouth with something sweet inside. Over time, it came to represent "sweetness." The word 甘い (あまい) evolved from this kanji, retaining its association with sweetness, softness, and leniency.