薄暗い

• 読み: うすぐらい
• ローマ字: usugurai
• 漢字の分解: 薄 (usu) — thin, faint | 暗 (kura) — dark
• 発音: /ɯ.sɯ.ɡɯ.ɾa.i/

意味

Dim; dusky; gloomy; murky. Describes lighting that is faint or insufficient, often creating an eerie or melancholy atmosphere.

An i-adjective formed by combining 薄 (thin, faint) and 暗い (dark). The prefix 薄- weakens the intensity of the root adjective, a productive pattern in Japanese. More poetic than simply 暗い — it implies a soft, diffuse darkness rather than complete blackness, and frequently evokes mood as much as physical light.

例文

1. 薄暗い廊下を歩いていると、何か不安な気持ちになってくる。
2. 夕暮れ時、公園は薄暗くなり、人影もまばらになってきた。
3. その古い書庫は薄暗くて、本の背表紙もろくに読めなかった。

使い方ガイド

場面: description, atmosphere, literature, daily conversation

トーン: evocative

起源と歴史

Compound of 薄 (usu) meaning 'faint, thin' and 暗い (kurai) meaning 'dark'. Both components trace to Old Japanese and classical Chinese literary vocabulary.

文化的背景

時代: Classical to Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal