空が綺麗
sora ga kirei
The phrase "the sky is beautiful" in Japanese is 空が綺麗 (sora ga kirei).
This phrase is used to express that the appearance of the sky is pleasing to look at. If you wish to emphasize how beautiful the sky is, you can use the phrase Sora wa totemo kirei desu, where totemo adds emphasis. To describe specific qualities of the sky, you might use kurenai to mean crimson or yuuyake to mean sunset.
What does it mean word for word?
空 (sora) means sky, が (ga) is a particle that identifies the sky as the subject of the sentence and 綺麗 (kirei) means both beautiful and clean.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase can be made into a polite, complete sentence by adding です (desu) to the end, resulting in 空が綺麗です. To use the plain or informal form, you can replace the implied polite ending with だ (da), resulting in 空が綺麗だ.
How do you pronounce it?
sora ga kirei
Did you know?
- While 空 (sora) means 'sky', the same sound is used for the word meaning 'empty' or 'void', which is a central concept in Buddhist philosophy.
- The word 綺麗 (kirei) originally meant 'pure' or 'clean' before it evolved to mean 'beautiful'.
- Japanese has a specific word 夕焼け (yuuyake) for a red sunset sky, but also 朝焼け (asayake) specifically for the red glow of a sunrise sky.
Examples in context
- 空が綺麗ですね。sora ga kirei desu ne.The sky is beautiful, isn't it?
- 今日の空が綺麗だ。kyou no sora ga kirei da.Today's sky is beautiful.
Example conversation
Youta and Yui are standing on a balcony at sunset.
- 陽太 Yota見て、空が綺麗だよ。mite, sora ga kirei da yo.Look, the sky is beautiful.
- 結衣 Yui本当、空が綺麗ですね。hontou, sora ga kirei desu ne.Truly, the sky is beautiful, isn't it?
- 陽太 Yota夕焼けがすごく綺麗だね。yuuyake ga sugoku kirei da ne.The sunset is very beautiful.
- 結衣 Yuiはい、ずっと見ていたい気分です。hai, zutto mite itai kibun desu.Yes, I feel like I could watch it forever.
