否定的な
hiteiteki na
The English word 'negative' can be translated into Japanese as 否定的な (hiteiteki na) or 否定の.
Meaning: not positive or neutral, bad, undesirable, unfavourable (adj)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 否定的な | hiteiteki na |
| 否定の | hitei no |
When you want to describe something as being bad, undesirable, unfavorable or not positive, use 否定的な. For example, you can use it to describe negative thoughts or a negative attitude.
Which one should you use?
The two forms are used in different contexts. 否定的な (hiteiteki na) is used to describe an attitude or a quality as being 'negative'. In contrast, 否定の (hitei no) is more commonly used in technical or grammatical contexts to mean 'of negation', such as referring to a negative particle.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
否定的な is a na-adjective used to describe a noun, such as in the phrase 否定的な考え (negative thoughts).
How do you pronounce it?
hiteiteki na
Did you know?
- While 否定的な (hiteiteki na) describes a negative attitude, a person's 'negative' personality is often described using the word 後ろ向き (ushiromuki), which literally means 'facing backwards'.
- In Japanese mathematics, a negative number is called 負の数 (fu no suu). The character 負 (fu) can also mean 'to lose' or 'to be defeated' in a game.
- When discussing a 'negative result' in a medical context, Japanese often uses the word 陰性 (insei). This is a completely different word from the 'negative' used for attitudes.
Examples in context
- 最近、否定的なことばかり考えてしまう。I've been having a lot of negative thoughts lately.This sentence is useful for showing how to use 否定的な to describe thoughts.Tatoeba #13028880 by small_snow, translation #10288759 by ddnktr
- 否定的な意見は聞きたくない。Hiteiteki na iken wa kikitakunai.I don't want to hear negative opinions.
- 彼はいつも否定的な態度をとる。Kare wa itsumo hiteiteki na taido o toru.He always takes a negative attitude.
Example conversation
Misaki and Kenta are talking about a project idea.
- 美咲 Misakiこのアイデア、どう思う？Kono aidea, dou omou?What do you think of this idea?
- 健太 Kentaあまり否定的な意見は言いたくないけど。Amari hiteiteki na iken wa iitakunai kedo.I don't really want to say anything negative, but…
- 美咲 Misaki正直に言って大丈夫だよ、健太。Shoujiki ni itte daijoubu da yo, Kenta.It's okay to be honest, Kenta.
- 健太 Kenta予算が足りないと思うんだ。Yosan ga tarinai to omou nda.I think we lack the budget.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “negative” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
