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53. Size & Strength

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Vocabulary

たくさん takusan

a lot, many, much

Adverb

A word that describes how, when, or how much something happens — like とても (very) or いつも (always).

友達がたくさんいます
tomodachi ga takusan imasu — I have a lot of friends
昨日たくさん食べました
kinou takusan tabemashita — I ate a lot yesterday
お菓子をたくさん買いました
okashi wo takusan kaimashita — I bought a lot of sweets
太い (ふとい) futoi

thick, fat

い-word

A describing word that ends in い. You change the ending to express different meanings — like 高い (expensive) becomes 高くない (not expensive).

Present
太い (ふとい)
futoi
この木は太いです
kono ki wa futoi desu — This tree is thick
Negative
太くない (ふとくない)
futokunai
この猫は太くないです
kono neko wa futokunai desu — This cat is not fat
Formal negative
太くないです (ふとくないです)
futokunai desu
あの犬は太くないです
ano inu wa futokunai desu — That dog is not fat
Past
太かった (ふとかった)
futokatta
あの猫は太かったです
ano neko wa futokatta desu — That cat was fat
Formal past
太かったです (ふとかったです)
futokatta desu
昨日の犬は太かったです
kinou no inu wa futokatta desu — Yesterday's dog was fat
Past negative
太くなかった (ふとくなかった)
futokunakatta
あの木は太くなかったです
ano ki wa futokunakatta desu — That tree was not thick
この木は太いです
kono ki wa futoi desu — This tree is thick
あの猫は太いです
ano neko wa futoi desu — That cat is fat
太い犬が公園にいます
futoi inu ga kouen ni imasu — There is a fat dog at the park
細い (ほそい) hosoi

thin, slender

い-word

A describing word that ends in い. You change the ending to express different meanings — like 高い (expensive) becomes 高くない (not expensive).

Present
細い (ほそい)
hosoi
この道は細いです
kono michi wa hosoi desu — This road is narrow
Negative
細くない (ほそくない)
hosokunai
あの道は細くないです
ano michi wa hosokunai desu — That road is not narrow
Formal negative
細くないです (ほそくないです)
hosokunai desu
この木は細くないです
kono ki wa hosokunai desu — This tree is not thin
Past
細かった (ほそかった)
hosokatta
あの猫は細かったです
ano neko wa hosokatta desu — That cat was thin
Formal past
細かったです (ほそかったです)
hosokatta desu
昨日の道は細かったです
kinou no michi wa hosokatta desu — Yesterday's road was narrow
Past negative
細くなかった (ほそくなかった)
hosokunakatta
あの犬は細くなかったです
ano inu wa hosokunakatta desu — That dog was not thin
この道は細いです
kono michi wa hosoi desu — This road is narrow
あの猫は細いです
ano neko wa hosoi desu — That cat is thin
細い木がたくさんあります
hosoi ki ga takusan arimasu — There are a lot of thin trees

Cultural Notes

太い and 細い are for shape, not size

In English, we might call someone thin or big in a general way. In Japanese, 太い and 細い are specifically about thickness or width — think of a tree trunk, a rope, or a road. For overall size (big/small), you would use 大きい and 小さい instead. Calling a person 太い is quite direct and can sound rude, so Japanese speakers usually avoid it.

強い goes beyond physical strength

強い does not just mean physically strong. You will hear it used for someone who is mentally tough, good at holding their alcohol, or even good at something in general. Similarly, 弱い can mean someone cannot handle spicy food or gets sick easily. These are very common everyday uses.

くない is the casual way to disagree

Adding くない to the end of an い-adjective is the casual negative form. You will hear it constantly in everyday conversation, often as a quick response: 高くない (not expensive), 強くない (not strong). In casual speech, Japanese speakers sometimes raise their voice at the end to turn it into a question.