How do you say "big" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "big" is 大きい (ookii). It is a adjective pronounced "oh-oh-kee-ee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

大きい is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as ookii, it sounds roughly like "oh-oh-kee-ee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

この木はとても大きいです。

Kono ki wa totemo ookii desu.

This tree is very big.

Usage notes

Ookii (大きい) is an i-adjective meaning big or large. It can directly precede a noun, as in ookii ki (big tree), or appear at the end of a sentence as ookii desu.

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Questions about 大きい

How do you pronounce 大きい?

大きい is romanised as ookii. Say it roughly like "oh-oh-kee-ee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 大きい formal or casual?

大きい is an i-adjective. The form shown is the plain form, which works in casual speech. To make it polite, add desu at the end of the sentence. The word itself does not change.

How is 大きい written in Japanese?

大きい is written using kanji and hiragana. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.