大切
たいせつ
hepburn taisetsu
important, precious
Part of speech · na-adjective
Pattern visualization
大big
切cut
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Show stroke order animation
3 strokes · 2.0s
4 strokes · 2.7s
Examples
- 家族が一番大切です。Family is the most important.
- 大切な日です。It's a precious day.
Collocations
大切 (taisetsu, important / precious — na-adj)大事 (daiji, important — synonym)重要 (juuyou, important — formal/objective)大切な人 (taisetsu na hito, precious person)お大事に (odaiji ni, take care — after illness)
Mnemonic
大切 taisetsu — na-adjective. Learn it alongside 重要 (juuyou): 重要 = objective importance (exams, tasks), 大切 = subjective preciousness (family, time, objects, memories). The two split English "important" between them. 大切な人 (taisetsu na hito) = a precious person — emotional weight for marriage proposals or confessions. お大事に (odaiji ni), built from the same 大事, is the standard "take care" greeting to the unwell. One word reveals the depth of Japanese emotional vocabulary.
Quick check
Most natural adjective for "family is precious"?