重い（おもい、omoi）
- heavy

The Japanese word 重い (おもい) primarily means "heavy." It describes something that has a significant weight or mass. However, 重い can also be used figuratively to express other meanings related to burden or seriousness. The nuances of 重い can vary depending on the context. It conveys the concept of weight, both literal and metaphorical. 重い is an i-adjective, meaning it conjugates like other i-adjectives.

⚫︎このカバンは重いです。 Translation: This bag is heavy. ⚫︎彼の悩みは重いです。 Translation: His worries are heavy (burdensome).

⚫︎When referring to physical weight: Use 重い to describe the weight of objects, such as a box, a bag, or a person. ⚫︎When referring to metaphorical weight: Use 重い to describe something difficult to bear, such as a responsibility, a problem, or sadness. The context determines whether the meaning is literal or figurative. It can be used in both formal and informal situations. You can also add adverbs like とても (very) or 少し (a little) to modify the degree of weight.

⚫︎The word is written as 重い in hiragana (おもい). ⚫︎The kanji form is 重. ⚫︎The okurigana (送りがな), the hiragana that follows the kanji, is い. There are no other ways to write this word. The kanji 重 can also be read as おも, ちょう, or じゅう, depending on the context and the word it is part of. For instance, 重要 (じゅうよう) means "important."

⚫︎重量がある (じゅうりょうがある) - To have weight (more formal) ⚫︎ずっしりした - Solid, heavy (describes something with substantial weight) ⚫︎ヘビー - Heavy (loanword from English, often used in specific contexts like "heavy metal")

⚫︎軽い (かるい) - Light (in weight)

この箱はとても重いから、一人では運べません。 ・Translation: This box is very heavy, so I can't carry it alone. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 重い to describe the physical weight of the box.

彼は重い病気にかかって、苦しんでいます。 ・Translation: He has a serious illness and is suffering. ・Explanation: In this sentence, 重い is used to describe the severity of the illness.

The kanji 重 has multiple meanings related to weight and importance. The origin of the kanji is related to the idea of piling things on top of each other, hence the sense of weight and importance. The etymology provides information about the roots and evolution of the word.