固い
かたい
hepburn katai
hard, firm
Part of speech · i-adjective
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- このパンは硬いです。This bread is hard.
- 彼は意志が固いです。He has a firm will.
Collocations
固い / 硬い / 堅い (katai, hard / firm — three kanji)柔らかい (yawarakai, soft — opposite)頭が固い (atama ga katai, stubborn — "hard-headed")固い握手 (katai akushu, firm handshake)堅実 (kenjitsu, steady / reliable)
Mnemonic
かたい katai — same sound, three kanji: (1) 硬い = physical hardness (stone, bread), (2) 固い = firm in mind / will / promise / lock, (3) 堅い = steady, reliable, conservative (people, companies). Big learner trap — pick the kanji by semantic domain. Bread/stone = 硬, resolve/lock = 固, person/firm = 堅. Idiom 頭が固い = "head is hard" = stubborn, inflexible. Same body-part + adjective pattern: 腹黒い (black-hearted), 口が軽い (loose-lipped). The kanji is the disambiguator.
Quick check
Correct kanji for "firm resolve"?