This article will give you all of the knowledge you need on the Japanese word kowai, including its Japanese definition and translation, example sentences, related expressions and more!
Contents
What does kowai mean?
Kowai (怖い/恐い, こわい) means scary or scared of in Japanese. This is a really common word that you will hear all the time in casual Japanese. By the way, don’t confuse kowai with kawaii (可愛い、かわいい) – that omnipresent Japanese word for all things cute!
There is a subtle difference in meaning between the two kanji with which kowai can be written. When written as 怖い, kowai refers to your personal feelings about being scared of something or someone.
あの先生が怖い。
Ano sensei ga kowai.
あのせんせいがこわい。
I’m scared of that teacher.
When written as 恐い, kowai stands for something that is inherently scary. In other words, it’s not just your opinion, it’s an objective statement!
あの先生が恐い。
Ano sensei ga kowai.
あのせんせいがこわい。
That teacher is scary.
You’ll be relieved to know that there’s no difference between the two in conversation. It’s only in writing where the above distinction comes into play. Knowing the difference would certainly impress a lot of people though (my fiancée didn’t know it!).
Interestingly, a common (but humorous!) mistake I see among Japanese people learning English is saying “I’m scary” when they want to say “I’m scared”. Simply put, this is because kowai can mean both things.
Let’s look at some examples of the two meanings of kowai.
Kowai meaning 1: Scared of
To make it easier for you, I have written each sentence in full Japanese kanji in the first line, followed by roman letters (romaji), and hiragana, with the English meaning coming last.
僕は蛇が怖い。
Boku wa hebi ga kowai.
へびがこわい。
I’m scared of snakes.
友達のお母さんは少し怖い。
Tomodachi no okaasan wa sukoshi kowai.
ともだちのおかあさんはすこしこわい。
I’m a little scared of my friend’s mother.
彼女は死が怖いです。
Kanojo wa shi ga kowai desu.
かのじょはしがこわいです。
She is afraid of dying.
嫌だ。怖い!
Iyada. Kowai!
いやだ。こわい!
Oh no, get that thing away from me! (Lit: No, I feel scared!)
Kowai meaning 2: Scary
その映画は本当に恐いね。
Sono eiga wa hontou ni kowai ne.
そのえいがはほんとうにこわいね。
That movie is really scary, isn’t it!
Kowakatta: I was scared
Kowakatta (怖かった、こわかった) is the past tense of kowai. You can use kowakatta to say I was scared. This is another useful word for conversations with your Japanese friends.
私は初めて飛行機に乗った時は怖かった。
Watashi wa hajimete hikouki ni notta toki wa kowakatta.
わたしははじめてひこうきにのったときはこわかった。
I was scared the first time I rode an airplane.
地震で家が揺れてとても怖かった。
Jishin de ie ga yurete totemo kowakatta.
じしんでいえがゆれてとてもこわかった。
I was really scared when the house shook during the earthquake.
Rohan's favorite resource for learning Japanese is JapanesePod101, one of the best tools for getting started with the language. Sign up for a free lifetime account here.
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