How do you say "strong" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "strong" is 強い (tsuyoi). It is a adjective pronounced "tsoo-yoh-ee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

強い is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as tsuyoi, it sounds roughly like "tsoo-yoh-ee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

彼はとても強い選手です。

Kare wa totemo tsuyoi senshu desu.

He is a very strong athlete.

Usage notes

Tsuyoi (強い) is an i-adjective meaning strong. It describes physical strength, emotional resilience, intensity of flavor, and strong winds. It is the opposite of yowai (weak).

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Questions about 強い

How do you pronounce 強い?

強い is romanised as tsuyoi. Say it roughly like "tsoo-yoh-ee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 強い formal or casual?

強い 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 強い written in Japanese?

強い 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.