辛い

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. このカレーは辛いです。▶ —
   This curry is spicy.
2. 彼の評価は辛いですね。▶ —
   His evaluation is harsh.

Collocations

Mnemonic

辛い karai — i-adjective covering (1) "spicy", (2) "salty" (especially with 塩 → 塩辛い shio karai), (3) figuratively "harsh / strict" (about evaluations or grades). Onyomi しん (shin): 辛抱 (shinbou, endurance) — 辛 carries a strong "enduring suffering" overtone. The kanji 辛 originally pictured a slave-branding tool, giving the core sense of "hardship"; that core radiates into taste and into mental endurance. Antonym 甘い (amai); both adjectives cross-map taste onto personality (a "salty" grader = a harsh one).

Quick check

1. Most natural Japanese for "harsh grading"?

   • 採点が辛い (karai — strict grading)
   • 採点が甘い (amai — lenient, opposite)
   • 採点が美味しい (delicious, nonsense)
   • 採点が暑い (hot weather, nonsense)