Japanese edit

Kanji in this term
あま
Grade: S
kun’yomi

Etymology edit

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.[1] From Proto-Japonic *ama.

Pronunciation edit

  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of "甘い"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 甘く まく [àmákú]
Terminal (終止形) 甘い まい
[àmáí]
[àmáꜜì]
Attributive (連体形) 甘い まい [àmáí]
Key constructions
Informal negative 甘くない まくな [àmákúnáꜜì]
Informal past 甘かった かった [àmáꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past 甘くなかった まくなかった [àmákúnáꜜkàttà]
Formal 甘いです いです [àmáꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive 甘くて くて [àmáꜜkùtè]
Conditional 甘ければ ければ [àmáꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective edit

(あま) (amai-i (adverbial (あま) (amaku))

  1. [from 720] sweet, sugary, mellow
    Antonyms: 辛い (karai), 苦い (nigai), 酸っぱい (suppai)
    (あま)ケーキamai kēkisweet cake
  2. [from early 1000s] lacking saltiness
    Antonym: 塩っぱい (shoppai)
  3. [from 1600] indulgent, soft
    女子(じょし)(あま)joshi ni amaisoft on girls
  4. [from 1477] careless, lacking, lax
    (つく)(あま)tsukuri ga amaithe construction is careless → flimsy, slapdash, slipshod
    管理(かんり)(あま)kanri ga amaithe management is lax → poorly managed
  5. [from 850] (figurative) fragrant (of odor), melodious (of sound)
    ゆりは(あま)(かお)りがする。Yuri wa amai kaori ga suru.Lilies have a fragrant smell.

Usage notes edit

  • 甘い is also a mostly obsolete alternative spelling for うまい (umai).

Inflection edit

Derived terms edit

References edit

  1. ^ ”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten)[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Second edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō
  3. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
  4. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN