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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "dull" in Japanese?
鈍い
nibui
In Japanese, "dull" is 鈍い (nibui).
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Pronunciation
Ni-bu-i, three syllables, said flatly and without much stress, matching the lackluster meaning of dull.
Writing and usage
鈍い is written using kanji. It's a adjective, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
古いナイフは鈍い刃があった。
furui naifu ha nibui ha gaatta.
The old knife had a dull edge.
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How to remember 鈍い
Nibui sounds like 'nee, boo, ee' — a weak, unenthusiastic boo for something dull and unexciting.
Related words
- ancient 古代 kodai
- modern モダンな modan na
- traditional 伝統的な dentouteki na
- modernized 近代化された kindaika sareta
- stingy ケチ kechi
- humble 謙虚 kenkyo
- arrogant 傲慢だ gouman da
- flexible 柔軟な juunanna
- rigid 硬い katai
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 鈍い
How do you pronounce 鈍い?
Ni-bu-i, three syllables, said flatly and without much stress, matching the lackluster meaning of dull.
Is 鈍い formal or casual?
鈍い is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 鈍い written in Japanese?
鈍い is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as nibui.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Dull" in other languages
Curated by Jack Ratcliffe
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