暗い
kurai
The English word 'dark' is translated into Japanese as 暗い (kurai).
暗い is used to describe an environment or state that has an absolute or relative lack of light. Beyond physical light, it can be used metaphorically to describe a person with a gloomy, dark or unapproachable personality.
Meaning: having an absolute or relative lack of light (adj)
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish 暗い from 黒い, which refers specifically to the color black rather than the level of light in a space.
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the tense or polarity of the adjective, use 暗かった for 'was dark' and 暗くない for 'is not dark'.
How do you pronounce it?
kurai
When do people say it?
In more evocative or literary descriptions, the term 闇夜 is used to refer to a pitch-black night to emphasize an ominous darkness.
Did you know?
- In Japanese, the word 暗い can be used to describe your own lack of knowledge on a subject, such as saying 'I am dark about history'.
- The kanji for 暗い contains the radical for 'sun' (日) at the bottom, visually suggesting the absence or hiding of the sun.
- The term 闇市 (yami-ichi) refers to 'black markets', using the root for profound darkness 闇 (yami) rather than the adjective 暗い.
Examples in context
- もう暗いよ。It is already dark.This sentence shows how to express that it is already dark using 暗い.Tatoeba #194357 by bunbuku, translation #31530 by CK
- 洞窟は暗い。Caves are dark.This sentence uses 暗い to describe the darkness found in caves.Tatoeba #11491039 by small_snow, translation #3008736 by Hybrid
- 外はまだ暗いよ。It's still dark outside.This sentence demonstrates using 暗い to state that it is still dark outside.Tatoeba #9001449 by small_snow, translation #2713483 by CK
- 森の奥は暗くて怖いです。The depths of the forest are dark and scary.
- 彼の心には闇がある。There is darkness in his heart.
- 昨夜は本当に暗かったよ。Last night was really dark.
- 闇夜になると、見えないものが多くなる。In the darkness of the night, many things become invisible.
- 49 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Misaki and Kenta are walking home at night.
- 美咲 Misaki暗い道だから、気をつけて。Kurai michi dakara, ki o tsukete.It is a dark road, so please be careful.
- 健太 Kenta本当だ、すごく暗いね。Hontō da, sugoku kurai ne.You're right, it's very dark.
- 美咲 Misakiスマホのライトをつけようか？Sumaho no raito o tsukeyou ka?Shall I turn on the smartphone light?
- 健太 Kentaありがとう、助かるよ。Arigatō, tasukaru yo.Thanks, that helps a lot.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 暗い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
