空恐ろしい

• 読み: そらおそろしい
• ローマ字: soraosoroshii
• 漢字の分解: 空 (sora/kuu) — sky, empty, vague; 恐 (kyou/osore) — fear, dread
• 発音: /so.ɾa.o.so.ɾo.ɕiː/

意味

Vaguely frightening; eerie; uncannily dreadful. Describes an intangible, diffuse sense of dread—a fear with no clearly identifiable source.

A compound i-adjective from 空 (sora, empty/vague) and 恐ろしい (osoroshii, terrifying). Unlike 恐ろしい alone (which describes concrete, identifiable fear), 空恐ろしい evokes a nameless, almost metaphysical unease—the feeling that something is terribly wrong yet cannot be precisely identified. Used in introspective writing, literature, and thoughtful speech about ominous trends, uncanny encounters, or the unsettling implications of abstract ideas.

例文

1. 彼の冷静すぎる目つきが、何か空恐ろしいものを感じさせた。
2. 技術の進歩がどこへ向かうのかをじっくり考えると、空恐ろしい気持ちになる。
3. その静まり返った廃屋の前に立つと、理由もなく空恐ろしさが込み上げてきた。

使い方ガイド

場面: psychology, literature, social commentary, introspection

トーン: unsettling

起源と歴史

Compound of 空 (sora, sky/emptiness/vagueness) and 恐ろしい (osoroshii, dreadful/terrifying). The 空 prefix does not literally mean 'sky' here but rather 'hollow/insubstantial,' indicating that the fear lacks a concrete object. The word has been used in literary Japanese since the Heian period to describe metaphysical or formless dread.

文化的背景

時代: Classical–Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Educated