Japanese

こわい
Meaning: scary; frightening; eerie
Part of Speech: Adjective

Listen to pronunciation

Handwriting

怖
い

Example sentences

The night road is dark and scary.
ドンと構えていれば、何も怖くない。
If you stay bold and composed, there's nothing to fear.
彼は本当は怖いのに、大丈夫だと強がっている。
He is actually scared, but he's pretending to be okay.
子供の頃の事故がトラウマになって、今でも運転が怖い。
The accident in my childhood became a trauma, and I'm still afraid of driving.
蜂が耳元でぶんぶんと飛び回っていて、とても怖かった。
A bee was buzzing around my ear, and it was very scary.
彼を敵に回すと、後が怖いですよ。
If you make an enemy of him, there will be trouble later.
怖い映画を見て、彼女はキャーと叫んだ。
She screamed 'Eek!' after watching a scary movie.
彼は怖いのが苦手なので、ホラー映画を絶対に見ない。
He is bad with scary things, so he never watches horror movies.
その吊り橋を渡るとき、風で少し揺れて怖かった。
When I crossed that suspension bridge, it swayed a little in the wind and was scary.
あのホラー映画はトラウマ級の怖さだった。
That horror movie was trauma-level scary.

Usage Notes

Used to describe something that causes fear or anxiety.

Sottaku

About Sottaku

Sottaku is an app for learning Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian with a strong focus on SRS. It includes automatic flashcard creation for hundreds of thousands of words, grammar breakdowns in example sentences, language-specific study packs where available, adaptive quizzes, mobile apps, a browser extension, and community features. Give it a try now! All learning content is free with no limits on flashcards or study time.

Sottaku is built to match the habits of successful learners. By using Sottaku, you will naturally learn in the most efficient way possible, as proven by countless success stories in the language learning community.

Free Forever

Access all grammar guides, quizzes, and flashcards without paying a cent. Quality education should be accessible to everyone.

Smart SRS System

Our flashcard system uses the FSRS algorithm (also used in Anki) to optimize your review schedule and maximize retention.

Comprehensive Content

From hanzi, kana, hangul, and European vocabulary basics to grammar and reading practice where available, we have lessons for every level. Practice with quizzes tailored to your skill.

Community Chat

Ask level-appropriate questions and get help from the community. Learn together with fellow learners across all 8 supported languages.