明るい

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
あか
Grade: 2
Alternative spelling
明い

Etymology

Appears to be a compound of Classical Japanese 明る (akaru, to brighten) +‎ (shi, adjectival suffix). This adjectival suffix forms a classical ク活用 (ku-katsuyō, ku-adjective).

First attested in 1689.[1]

Pronunciation

  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「明るい
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 明るく かるく
Terminal (終止形) 明るい かるい
かる

Attributive (連体形) 明るい かるい
Key constructions
Informal negative 明るくない かるくな
Informal past 明るかった かるかった
Informal negative past 明るくなかった かるくなかった
Formal 明るいです かるいです
Conjunctive 明るくて かるくて
Conditional 明るければ かるければ

Adjective

(あか)るい (akarui-i (adverbial (あか)るく (akaruku))

  1. bright, light, luminous
    Antonym: くらい (kurai)
    (あか)るい()()しがあたりを()らしていた。
    Akarui hizashi ga atari o terashite ita.
    The bright sunshine illuminated the area.
  2. merry, cheerful
    (でん)()()こうから(あか)るい(こえ)(かえ)ってきた。
    Denwa no mukō kara akarui koe ga kaette kita.
    A cheerful voice answered the phone.

Inflection

Synonyms

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 あかる・い 【明】Paid subscription required”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
  2. 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN