強い

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Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
つよ
Grade: 2
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Found in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.[1] In turn from Proto-Japonic *tuyə. Cognate with Miyako (tsū), Okinawan 強ーさん (chūsan).

Pronunciation

  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「強い
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 強く よく

Terminal (終止形) 強い
Attributive (連体形) 強い
Key constructions
Informal negative 強くない よくない
くない

Informal past 強かった よかった
かった

Informal negative past 強くなかった よくなかった
くなかった

Formal 強いです いです
Conjunctive 強くて よくて
くて

Conditional 強ければ よければ
ければ

Adjective

(つよ) (tsuyoi-i (adverbial (つよ) (tsuyoku))

  1. strong, durable, powerful
    • 2006 April 15, Nobuyuki Anzai, “AKT(アクト).139(ひゃくさんじゅうきゅう)/ ウォーゲーム(さい)(しゅう)(けっ)(せん) アランVS(バーサス).ハロウィン() [Akt 139: War Games Final Battle: Alan vs. Halloween #2]”, in MÄR(メル) MÄRCHEN AWAKENS ROMANCE [MÄR: Märchen Awakens Romance], volume 13 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 153:
      (よわ)(やつ)(つよ)(やつ)()(せい)になるのは(ひつ)(ぜん)なんだ
      Yowai yatsu ga tsuyoi yatsu no gisei ni naru no wa hitsuzen na n da
      It’s inevitable that the weak fall prey to the strong
  2. strong, competent, good
    (すう)()(つよ)
    sūji ni tsuyoi
    good at figures
  3. high tolerance, resilient
    (あめ)(つよ)
    ame ni tsuyoi
    resilient to rain
Inflection
Alternative forms
Synonyms
Antonyms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
こわ
Grade: 2
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese.[1] Appears in the Nihon Shoki, c. CE 720. Ultimately from Proto-Japonic *kƏpa.

Cognate with 怖い (kowai, scary, frightening), apparently from the sense of freezing from fright.[1][2] Likely also cognate with other terms beginning with ko- and related to senses of hard, stiff, such as 凝る (koru, to stiffen), 凍ゆ (koyu, to freeze, to become frozen, classical) → modern 凍える (kogoeru).

Pronunciation

Adjective

(こわ) (kowaiこはい (kofai)?-i (adverbial (こわ) (kowaku))

  1. hard, tough, stiff
  2. stubborn
Inflection

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term

Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Verb

() (shii

  1. imperfective and stem (or continuative) forms of 強いる (shiiru)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN