How do you say "bright" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "bright" is 明るい (Akarui). It is a adjective pronounced "ah-kah-roo-ee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

明るい is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as Akarui, it sounds roughly like "ah-kah-roo-ee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

この部屋はとても明るいです。

Kono heya wa totemo akarui desu.

This room is very bright.

Usage notes

Akarui (明るい) is an i-adjective meaning bright or cheerful. It describes rooms with good lighting as well as people with a cheerful personality. Its opposite is kurai (dark).

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Questions about 明るい

How do you pronounce 明るい?

明るい is romanised as Akarui. Say it roughly like "ah-kah-roo-ee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 明るい formal or casual?

明るい 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 明るい written in Japanese?

明るい 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.