How do you say "sad" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "sad" is 悲しい (Kanashii). It is a adjective.

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

悲しい is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as Kanashii, it sounds roughly like "kah-nah-shee-ee" to an English ear.

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Questions about 悲しい

How do you pronounce 悲しい?

悲しい is romanised as Kanashii. Say it roughly like "kah-nah-shee-ee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 悲しい formal or casual?

悲しい 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 悲しい written in Japanese?

悲しい 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.