描いた
kaita
Drew, the past tense of draw, is 描いた (kaita) in Japanese.
Use 描いた when you say someone drew a picture or a diagram.
Which one should you use?
描いた is the plain past tense, used with friends and in casual speech. 描きました is the polite past tense.
How does it change in a sentence?
描いた comes from the dictionary form 描く, to draw. The ending changes to show past tense.
How do you pronounce it?
It is read kaita, in three short sounds.
Did you know?
- While 描いた is used for art, Japanese uses a completely different verb, 引いた (hiita), for drawing a line or drawing a bath.
- Depending on the context, 描いた can be read as kaita or egaita. The latter reading is reserved for poetry and literature to evoke a more emotional or artistic tone.
- The kanji used in 描いた, the character 描, contains the radical for 'brush' on the left side. This serves as a visual reminder that the action historically involves the use of a brush rather than a pencil.
Examples in context
- 誰が描いたの？Who drew it?誰が描いたの is a casual way to ask who drew something.Tatoeba #11163618 by small_snow, translation #442064 by CK
- これは私が描いた絵です。This is a picture that I drew.Here 描いた describes the picture, so it means the picture that I drew.Tatoeba #218334 by bunbuku, translation #2278461 by CK
- トムは雪だるまを描いた。Tom drew a snowman.描いた ends the sentence, simply stating what Tom drew.Tatoeba #8593139 by small_snow, translation #7576906 by Hybrid
- はじめまして、私の名前はドリューです。Nice to meet you, my name is Drew.
- 14 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yui and Hiroto are looking at a sketchbook in a classroom.
- 結衣 Yuiこの犬の絵、大翔が描いたの？Kono inu no e, Hiroto ga kaita no?Did you draw this picture of a dog, Hiroto?
- 大翔 Hirotoうん、昨日描いたんだ。Un, kinō kaita nda.Yeah, I drew it yesterday.
- 結衣 Yuiすごく上手だね！Sugoku jōzu da ne!You're really good at it!
- 大翔 Hirotoありがとう、嬉しいよ。Arigatō, ureshii yo.Thanks, I'm glad you like it.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
