深い
ふかい
hepburn fukai
deep
Part of speech · i-adjective
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- この湖はとても深いです。This lake is very deep.
- 深い意味のある言葉ですね。A word with deep meaning.
Collocations
深い (fukai, deep)浅い (asai, shallow — antonym)深さ (fukasa, depth noun)深夜 (shin'ya, deep night)深刻 (shinkoku, serious)
Mnemonic
Fukai (深い) is the i-adjective "deep" — physical and abstract. Fukai mizuumi (deep lake, physical), fukai imi (deep meaning, abstract), fukai kankei (deep relationship), fukai ai (deep love). Antonym: asai (shallow). The 深 root anchors: shin'ya (深夜, deep night / late hours), shinkoku (深刻, serious, na-adjective), shinkokyuu (深呼吸, deep breath), suishin (水深, water depth). Compare fukai imi (deep meaning, layered / connotative) with omoi imi (heavy meaning, with weight / consequences). In Japanese literature, mono no aware (the deep poignancy of things) and yuugen (subtle profundity) connect to the fukai aesthetic. Korean "gip-da / sim-o-ha-da / gip-i" maps similarly.
Quick check
Natural Japanese adjective for "serious problem"?