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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "near" in Japanese?
近い
chikai
In Japanese, "near" is 近い (chikai).
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Pronunciation
Chi-kai, two syllables, 'kai' glides like the English word 'kai', giving it a short, snappy finish.
Writing and usage
近い 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
店はかなり近い。
mise hakanari chikai.
The shop is quite near.
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How to remember 近い
Chikai sounds like 'chi, kai' — chi energy is near you, all around, close by.
Related words
- hard 硬い katai
- 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
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 近い
How do you pronounce 近い?
Chi-kai, two syllables, 'kai' glides like the English word 'kai', giving it a short, snappy finish.
Is 近い formal or casual?
近い 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 近い written in Japanese?
近い is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as chikai.
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.
"Near" in other languages
Curated by Jack 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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