敵
[te̞kʲi]
The Japanese word for enemies is 敵.
敵 refers to people or groups who are actively opposed or hostile to another. To describe the action of being hostile toward someone or being in opposition, you can use the verb form 敵対する.
Which one should you use?
While 敵 is a general term for an enemy, the term 仇敵 is used specifically to emphasize the notion of a sworn enemy or a long-standing adversary. The direct antonym of 敵 is 味方, which means ally, friend or supporter.
How does it change in a sentence?
Unlike English, the Japanese word 敵 does not change its form to indicate plurality. The number of enemies is determined by context or counters.
Did you know?
- The word for ally, 味方, literally translates to 'the side that tastes', derived from the word for 'taste' 味 and 'direction' 方.
- The word 敵 can be used as a verb meaning 'to match' or 'to be an equal to'. For example, the phrase 敵う means to be a match for an opponent in skill or power.
- The word 敵 originally stems from the concept of a 'pair' or 'one of a pair', specifically relating to the idea of an opposing half in a match or competition.
Examples in context
- 彼は政界に敵が多い。He has many enemies in the political world.This sentence shows how to describe having many enemies in a specific field like politics.Tatoeba #103349 by bunbuku, translation #300344 by bmorsello
- 王は敵軍を壊滅させた。The king crushed his enemies.This sentence is useful for describing an enemy army being crushed.Tatoeba #188489 by wakatyann630, translation #25632 by CK
- 敵の敵が必ずしも味方とは限らない。Enemies of enemies aren't always allies.This sentence uses the word to illustrate a relationship between enemies and allies.Tatoeba #3010095 by tommy_san, translation #3010103 by CK
- 敵を作るMake enemies
- 敵を倒すDefeat enemies
- 共通の敵Common enemy
- 天敵Natural enemies
- 16 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta and Himari are discussing a fantasy movie they just watched.
- 健太 Kentaこの物語では、主人公にたくさんの敵が現れるね。Kono monogatari de wa, shujinkou ni takusan no teki ga arawareru ne.In this story, many enemies appear to the protagonist, don't they?
- 陽葵 Himariそうだね。敵が強すぎて、とても怖かったよ。Sou da ne. Teki ga tsuyosugite, totemo kowakatta yo.That's true. The enemies were too strong, so it was really scary.
- 健太 Kentaでも、仲間と一緒に戦う姿は格好よかったよ。Demo, nakama to issho ni tatakau sugata wa kakko yokatta yo.But the way he fought alongside his allies was cool.
- 陽葵 Himariうん、最後は敵を倒して本当に感動したよ。Un, saigo wa teki o taoshite hontou ni kandou shita yo.Yeah, I was really moved when he defeated the enemies at the end.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 敵, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 敵, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
