怖い
kowai[ko̞β̞a̠i]
The Japanese word for afraid is 怖い (kowai).
怖い is an adjective used to express being impressed with fear, apprehension or the feeling of being afraid. While it can describe something as being scary, it is often used by a speaker to describe their own subjective feeling of fear.
Meaning: impressed with fear or apprehension, in fear, apprehensive (adj)
Which one should you use?
While 怖い can mean both 'afraid' and 'scary', it is often used to describe a person's own internal subjective feeling of fear.
How do you pronounce it?
kowai
What mistakes should you avoid?
While both express fear, 怖い is much more common for everyday fears, such as ghosts or insects, whereas 恐ろしい means 'terrifying'.
Did you know?
- The word 怖い originally meant 'stiff' or 'strong' in Classical Japanese.
- If you describe a person as 怖い (kowai), you might not be saying they are 'afraid', but rather that they are 'intimidating' or 'scary' to deal with.
- The feeling of being 怖い is often expressed through physical gestures, such as hugging one's own shoulders or shrinking the body.
Examples in context
- まだ怖いの？Are you still afraid?Tatoeba #2073753 by bunbuku, translation #3219433 by CK
- 何が怖いの？What are you afraid of?This sentence is useful for asking what someone is afraid of using the form 怖い.Tatoeba #5020254 by tommy_san, translation #1886814 by CK
- 虫が怖いの？Are you afraid of insects?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is afraid of insects using the form 怖い.Tatoeba #8731231 by bunbuku, translation #4872214 by zvzuibqx
- 私は怖い映画が苦手です。I am not good with scary movies.
- 彼（かれ）のことが不安だ。I am afraid for him.
- 80 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is watching a horror movie at home.
- 蓮 Renこの映画、すごく怖いよ。Kono eiga, sugoku kowai yo.This movie is really scary.
- 陽葵 Himari本当だ、怖いね。Hontou da, kowai ne.You're right, it's scary.
- 蓮 Ren陽葵、大丈夫？Himari, daijoubu?Himari, are you okay?
- 陽葵 Himari少し怖いけど、最後まで見るよ。Sukoshi kowai kedo, saigo made miru yo.It's a bit scary, but I'll watch until the end.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “afraid” translations and entries 怖い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 怖い, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
