暗い
kuraistandard, kanji
The Japanese word for "dark" is 暗い (kurai). It describes a dark room, a dark night and also a gloomy mood. It is also called くらい (kurai).
Meaning: dark, dim (adjective)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 暗い | kurai | standard, kanji |
| くらい | kurai | hiragana |
暗い (kurai) is used for places and time, as in 暗い部屋 (kurai heya), "a dark room". It can describe a person who is gloomy or quiet, as in 暗い人 (kurai hito).
Which one should you use?
The opposite is 明るい (akarui), "bright". For dark colors, Japanese often uses 濃い (koi), as in 濃い青 (koi ao), "dark blue".
How does it change in a sentence?
暗い (kurai) is an i-adjective. The past form is 暗かった (kurakatta) and the form for "it gets dark" is 暗くなる (kuraku naru).
Did you know?
- The opposite word 明るい (akarui), "bright", is built from the kanji 明 (mei), which joins the sun 日 and the moon 月.
Examples in context
- 部屋が暗いです。Heya ga kurai desu.The room is dark.
- もう暗くなりました。Mou kuraku narimashita.It has already gotten dark.
- 暗い道は怖い。Kurai michi wa kowai.Dark roads are scary.
Example conversation
Hana and Father are walking home in the evening.
- Hanaお父さん、暗いね。Otousan, kurai ne.Dad, it is dark.
- Fatherそうだね。もう暗くなったね。Sou da ne. Mou kuraku natta ne.Yes. It has gotten dark already.
- Hanaライトをつけよう。Raito o tsukeyou.Let's turn on the light.
