硬い

• 読み: かたい
• ローマ字: katai
• 漢字の分解: 硬 (kō/kata) — hard, rigid, stiff
• 発音: /ka.ta.i/

意味

Hard; solid; firm. Describes something rigid or not easily bent or broken.

An i-adjective with several related meanings. 硬い specifically refers to physical hardness or rigidity (a hard surface, stiff muscles). Japanese has multiple kanji for かたい: 硬い (physically hard/rigid), 固い (firm/solid), and 堅い (sturdy/reliable). At the N4 level, they are often interchangeable, but 硬い is most common for physical hardness.

例文

1. このパンは少し硬いですね。
2. 長く座っていたので体が硬くなった。
3. この肉は硬くて食べにくい。

使い方ガイド

場面: food, physical descriptions, materials

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

From Old Japanese かたし (katashi). The kanji 硬 contains 石 (stone) as its radical, emphasising physical hardness or rigidity.

文化的背景

時代: Ancient

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal