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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "hard" in Japanese?
硬い
katai
In Japanese, "hard" is 硬い (katai).
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Pronunciation
Ka-tai, two syllables, the 'tai' glides like the English word 'tie', giving the whole word a firm, clipped ending.
Writing and usage
硬い 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
この岩はとても硬い。
kono iwa hatotemo katai.
This rock is very hard.
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How to remember 硬い
Katai sounds like 'car tie' — tie a knot as hard and tight as a car's seatbelt.
Related words
- smooth 滑らかな nameraka na
- rough ざらざらした zarazarashita
- loud うるさい urusai
- thick 厚い atsui
- thin 薄い usui
- fresh 新鮮 shinsen
- rotten 腐った kusatsu ta
- ripe 熟した jukushi ta
- raw 生の uno
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 硬い
How do you pronounce 硬い?
Ka-tai, two syllables, the 'tai' glides like the English word 'tie', giving the whole word a firm, clipped ending.
Is 硬い formal or casual?
硬い 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 硬い written in Japanese?
硬い is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as katai.
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.
"Hard" in other languages
Curated by Callan Ratcliffe
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. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.
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