薄い

• Reading: うすい
• Romaji: usui
• Kanji breakdown: 薄 (usu/haku) — thin, light, pale
• Pronunciation: /ɯ.sɯ.i/

Meaning

Thin (of an object); light; faint. Describes thin objects, weak flavors, or pale colors.

An i-adjective with several related meanings: physically thin (薄い本 = thin book), light in color (薄い青 = light blue), weak in flavor (味が薄い = bland taste), or sparse (薄い髪 = thin hair). The opposite for physical thickness is 厚い. Conjugates regularly: 薄くない, 薄かった.

Examples

1. このノートパソコンはとても薄いです。 This laptop is very thin.
2. スープの味が薄いので塩を入れました。 The soup was bland, so I added salt.
3. 薄い色のシャツを着ています。 I'm wearing a light-colored shirt.

Usage Guide

Context: objects, taste, colors

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

The kanji 薄 contains the grass radical (艹) above 溥 (spread thin), suggesting something spread thinly like grass. Used for thinness and weakness since ancient Japanese.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal