寂しい

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 一人だと寂しいです。▶ —
   I feel lonely on my own.
2. あなたがいないと寂しい。▶ —
   It's lonely without you.

Collocations

Mnemonic

さみしい / さびしい samishii / sabishii — two pronunciations, identical meaning. Two kanji are interchangeable: 寂 (quiet/desolate) and 淋 (forlorn). さびしい is the dictionary form; さみしい dominates in speech and social media. Nominal compound 寂しがり屋 (sabishigariya) = "the lonely type" (someone who feels loneliness easily). The same 寂 (jaku) reaches into Buddhist vocabulary like 涅槃寂静 (nirvana's tranquility), showing an emotional word branching into religious aesthetics.

Quick check

1. Relationship between さびしい and さみしい?

   • Same meaning, different reading: dictionary uses さびしい, speech leans to さみしい
   • Different meanings
   • Era-based split
   • Dialectal pair