大きい

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 大きい家ですね。▶ —
   It's a big house, isn't it.
2. もっと大きい声で話してください。▶ —
   Please speak in a louder voice.

Collocations

Mnemonic

おおきい — 大きい, Yamato. An i-adjective. The kanji 大 is the pictograph of a person with arms outstretched — the biggest shape a body alone can draw. The i-adjective conjugates as you'd expect — negative: 大きくない. past: 大きかった. adverbial: 大きく. But before a noun, the word has two coats — everyday: 大きい家 (a big house). poetic: 大きな夢 (a big dream) — 大きな is more literary, more lyrical. That subtle difference between two coats of one meaning already begins at JLPT N5. The Korean reading dae is sister to the onyomi だい / たい — 大学 daigaku (university), 大切 taisetsu (important).

Quick check

1. What is the correct negative form of 大きい?

   • 大きくない (correct casual)
   • 大きいない (wrong)
   • 大きくありません (correct polite)
   • 大きなくない (wrong)