きれい

• Reading: きれい
• Romaji: kirei
• Kanji breakdown: 綺 (ki) — figured cloth, beautiful; 麗 (rei) — lovely, elegant, gracious
• Pronunciation: /ki.ɾe.i/

Meaning

Pretty; beautiful; clean; neat. Describes something that is visually pleasing or tidy.

A na-adjective with two main meanings: beautiful/pretty (きれいな花, a beautiful flower) and clean/tidy (部屋がきれいです, the room is clean). Despite having the kanji form 綺麗, it is almost always written in hiragana. Important: although it ends in い, it is a na-adjective, not an i-adjective — it takes な, not く: きれいな (not きれいく).

Examples

1. この花はとてもきれいです。 This flower is very pretty.
2. 部屋をきれいにしてください。 Please clean up the room.
3. きれいな海で泳ぎたいです。 I want to swim in a beautiful ocean.

Usage Guide

Context: appearance, cleanliness, nature

Tone: positive

Origin & History

Written in kanji as 綺麗, where 綺 means beautiful cloth/textile and 麗 means lovely or elegant. The compound originally described fine, beautiful fabrics before generalizing to beauty and cleanliness.

Cultural Context

Era: Medieval

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal