好奇心の強い
kōkishin no tsuyoi
The English word "curious" can be expressed in Japanese as 好奇心の強い (kōkishin no tsuyoi) or 知りたがる.
Meaning: tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate (adj)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 好奇心の強い | kōkishin no tsuyoi |
| 知りたがる | shiritagaru |
Use 好奇心の強い to describe a person's character or a personality trait. Use 知りたがる to describe the outward behavior of someone who is constantly asking questions or trying to find out information.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 好奇心の強い literally translates to "having strong curiosity".
Which one should you use?
While 好奇心の強い describes a personality trait, 知りたがる is a verb used to describe the outward behavior of someone who is constantly asking questions or trying to find out information.
How does it change in a sentence?
好奇心の強い is used as an adjective to describe a person's character. The verb 知りたがる uses the auxiliary verb 〜たがる, which indicates that a third party (not the speaker) has a desire or tendency to do something.
How do you pronounce it?
kōkishin no tsuyoi
Did you know?
- In Japanese, the verb 知りたがる uses a specific grammatical ending that implies the speaker is observing the curiosity from the outside, as it is culturally humble to avoid claiming to know exactly what someone else is feeling.
- While 好奇心 is generally positive, the phrase 野次馬根性 describes a 'curious' person in a negative sense, specifically someone who crowds around to watch a street accident or scandal.
- The character 好 in 好奇心 is the same one used in 好き for 'like', literally framing curiosity as 'liking the strange'.
Examples in context
- 新しい技術に興味津々です。I am extremely curious about new technologies.
- 彼女は新しい文化に対して好奇心を持っています。She has curiosity towards new cultures.
- この本に興味があります。I have an interest in this book.
- 彼は好奇心の強い人だ。Kare wa koukishin no tsuyoi hito da.He is a curious person.
- 彼女は好奇心の強い性格をしている。Kanojo wa koukishin no tsuyoi seikaku o shite iru.She has a curious personality.
Example conversation
Yota and Yui are talking about their personalities.
- 陽太 Yota結衣は好奇心の強い方なの？Yui wa koukishin no tsuyoi hou nano?Are you the curious type, Yui?
- 結衣 Yuiうん、新しい場所に行くのが大好きよ。Un, atarashii basho ni iku no ga daisuki yo.Yes, I love going to new places.
- 陽太 Yotaいいな。僕ももっと挑戦したいよ。Ii na. Boku mo motto chousen shitai yo.That's nice. I want to take on more challenges too.
- 結衣 Yui一緒にどこかへ行ってみましょう。Issho ni dokoka e itte mimashou.Let's try going somewhere together.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “curious” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
