Words Related to Opposites -DAILY NIHONGO-

【大きい⇔小さい（おおきい⇔ちいさい）】”ŌKĪ⇔CHĪSAI”

Meaning: 

big ⇔ small

Usage: 

「旅行の時は、大きいかばんも小さいかばんもどちらもあるといいよ。」
（りょこうのときは、おおきいかばんもちいさいかばんもどちらもあるといいよ。）
(Ryokō no toki wa, ōkī kaban mo chīsai kaban mo dochira mo aruto īyo.)
”When you travel, it’s good to have both a big bag and a small bag.”

• 「大きい (おおきい / ōkī)」is a word that refers to the degree or scale of the shape, area, or volume of something. And 「小さい (ちいさい / chīsai)」is its opposite.
• These adjectives are followed by some nouns like below:
  • 家 (いえ / ie / “house”)
    「大きい家」⇔「小さい家」
  • 子供 (こども / kodomo / “child”)
    「大きい子供」⇔「小さい子供」
    *In this case, it may refer either to a tall (or small) child or to an older (or younger) child.
  • 声 (こえ / koe / “voice”)
    「大きい声」⇔「小さい声」
    *When followed by a word related to sound, it means loud (or quiet).

Glossary:

• 旅行（りょこう）: travel, trip
• ～の時（のとき）: when you do […], when it is […]
• 大きい（おおきい）: big, large
• 小さい（ちいさい）: small
• かばん: bag
• どちらも: both
• ある: there is, there are
• いい: good

【高い⇔低い（たかい⇔ひくい）】”TAKAI⇔HIKUI”

*The Kanji of 「低」is not correct. Please refer to the pic below for the correct Kanji. 

Meaning:

high / tall ⇔ low / short

Usage:

Usage:「私の背は低いのに、娘は背が高い。」
（わたしのせはひくいのに、むすめはせがたかい。）
(Watashi no se wa hikui noni, musume wa se ga takai.)
“I am short, but my daughter is tall.”

• 「高い (たかい / takai / “high” or “tall”)」is a word that means high or tall. We use this adjective not only to describe physical height but also temperature and voice (musical pitch), and so on. Its antonym is 「低い (ひくい / hikui / “low” or “short”)」.
• When talking about height, there are two ways to say it:
  • 「～は背が高い (低い)」
    “ (Someone) is tall (or small).”
    This is the more common way of talking about a person’s height and can be used alone.
  • 「～の背は (が) 高い (低い)」
    “ (Someone’s) height is tall (or small).”
    This one is used when you are comparing your height to someone else’s, as in the usage; 「～は」is a more comparative way of saying things, while 「が」 has no comparative connotation. For example, you use 「が」as「娘の背が高いのは、私の背が高いからだ。」”My daughter is tall because I am tall.” 

Glossary:

• 私（わたし）: I, me
• 背（せ）: (person’s) height
• 低い（ひくい）: low, short
• 娘（むすめ）: daughter
• 高い（たかい）: high, tall

【高い⇔安い（たかい⇔やすい）】”TAKAI⇔YASUI”

Meaning:

expensive ⇔ cheap

Usage:

「安いお肉でも砂糖をもみ込んでおくと、高いお肉のような柔らかさになるよ。」
（やすいおにくでもさとうをもみこんでおくと、たかいおにくのようなやわらかさになるよ。）
(Yasui oniku demo satō o momikonde-okuto, takai oniku no youna yawarakasa ni naru.)
“Even cheap beef can be tender like expensive beef if you rub sugar all over it.”

• 「高い (たかい / takai)」also means “expensive”. 
• 「安い (やすい / yasui )」 means “cheap” or “inexpensive” or “low-priced”. This word does not contain the negative connotations of the English word “cheap”. So you can use it in any kind of situation.
  *If you say 「安っぽい (やすっぽい / yasuppoi)」(literally means, “looks cheap”), that means something looks low quality and you assume it should be cheap.

Glossary:

• 安い（やすい）: cheap, inexpensive
• お肉（おにく）: meat *「お」 is a prefix to make it polite.
• 砂糖（さとう）: low, short
• もみ込む（もみこむ）: to rub […] into […]
• ～しておく: prepare […] for doing something, keep […ing] beforehand
• 高い（たかい）: high, tall
• ～のような: like […]
• 柔らかさ（やわらかさ）: softness, tenderness
• ～になる: to become, to be

【広い⇔狭い（ひろい⇔せまい）】”HIROI⇔SEMAI”

Meaning:

wide ⇔ narrow

Usage:

「都会の狭い家よりも、地方の広い家の人気が出てきた。」
（とかいのせまいいえよりも、ちほうのひろいいえのにんきがでてきた。）
(Tokai no semai ie yorimo, chihō no hiroi ie no ninki ga detekita.)
“Spacious houses in rural areas are becoming more popular than small houses in cities.”

• It is used not only for width but also for space (“spacious” ⇔ “small” ).
• 「都会 (とかい / tokai / “city”)」 and 「地方 or 田舎 (ちほう or いなか / chihō or inaka / “rural area” or “countryside”)」are opposites, too.
• Houses in Tokyo are very expensive. I used to live in an apartment (about 20 square meters) near Shinjuku, and the monthly rent was 120,000 yen. Due to the influence of COVID-19, telecommuting has recently been on the rise. More and more people are moving to the countryside where they can rent a large room at a reasonable price since they don’t have to commute to the city center anymore.

Glossary:

• 都会（とかい）: city 
• 狭い（せまい）: narrow, small (space)
• 家（いえ）: house
• 地方（ちほう）: rural area, countryside
• 広い（ひろい）: wide, large (space)
• 人気が出る（にんきがでる）: to become popular

【深い⇔浅い（ふかい⇔あさい）】”FUKAI⇔ASAI”

*The Kanji of 「浅」is not correct. Please refer to the pic below for the correct Kanji. 

Meaning:

deep ⇔ shallow

Usage:

「この辺りは水が深いので、浅い所で遊ぼうね。」
（このあたりはみずがふかいので、あさいところであそぼうね。）
(Kono atari wa mizu ga fukai node, asai tokoro de asobō ne.)
“The water is deep around here, so let’s play in the shallow water.”

• 「深い (ふかい / fukai / ”deep”)」means that the distance from the surface to the bottom and from the entrance to the back is long. The opposite is 「浅い (あさい / asai / “shallow”)」. They are not only used for the depth of the water but also used as below:
  • 考え (かんがえ / kan-gae / “thinking” or “though”)
    「考えが深い」⇔「考えが浅い」
    “(Someone) thinks deeply (profoundly).” ⇔ “(Someone) thinks little (superficially).”
  • 色 (いろ / iro / “color”)
    「深い色」
    “deep color”
    *This expression is especially used for colors of 「青 (あお / ao / “blue”)」 and 「緑 (みどり / midori / “green”)」.
    *We rarely use 「浅い (あさい / asai / “shallow”)」 for color in everyday conversation. It is sometimes used by people involved in jobs such as dyeing, though.

Glossary:

• この: this […]
• 辺り（あたり）: around
• この辺り（このあたり）: around here
• 水（みず）: water
• 深い（ふかい）: deep
• 浅い（あさい）: shallow
• 所（ところ）: place, location
• 遊ぶ（あそぶ）: play

【暑い⇔寒い（あつい⇔さむい）】”ATSUI⇔SAMUI”

Meaning:

hot ⇔ cold (for air temperature and weather)

Usage:

「この時期は暑い日と寒い日の繰り返しで何を着ればいいかわからない。」
（このじきはあついひとさむいひのくりかえしでなにをきればいいかわからない。）
(Kono jiki wa atsui hi to samui hi no kurikaeshi de nani o kireba iika wakaranai.)
“This time of year, it’s difficult to know what to wear because of the repetition of hot and cold days.”

• 「暑い (あつい / atsui / “hot”)」and「寒い (さむい / samui / “cold”)」are words used for air temperature and weather. When you want to say “cool”, you say 「涼しい (すずしい / suzushī)」. And when you want to say “warm” for temperature or weather, you can say 「暖かい (あたたかい or あったかい / atatakai or attakai)」. *The latter pronunciation is more casual and conversational.
• 「何を～ればいいかわからない (なにを～ればいいかわからない / nani o ~reba iika wakaranai)」 is a very useful phrase, which means “I don’t know what to do”.
  • 何を買えばいいかわからない (なにをかえばいいかわからない / nani o kaeba iika wakaranai.)
    “I don’t know what to buy.”
  • 何を準備すればいいかわからない (なにをじゅんびすればいいかわからない / nani o jumbi sureba iika wakaranai)
    “I don’t know what to prepare.”
  • 何を話せばいいかわからない (なにをはなせばいいかわからない / nani o hanaseba iika wakaranai)
    “I don’t know what to talk about.”

Glossary:

• この: this […]
• 時期（じき）: time, season
• 暑い（あつい）: hot *for air temperature and weather
• 日（ひ）: day
• 寒い（さむい）: cold *for air temperature and weather
• 繰り返し（くりかえし）: repeat, repetition, refrain
• 何（なに）: what
• 着る（きる）: to wear
• 何を～ればいいか（なにを～ればいいか）: what to do, what to […]
• わからない: not to know, “I do not know.”

【熱い⇔冷たい（あつい⇔つめたい）】”ATSUI⇔TSUMETAI”

Meaning:

hot ⇔ cool/cold

Usage:

「熱いおそばと冷たいおそばどちらが好きですか？」
（あついおそばとつめたいおそばどちらがすきですか？）
(Atsui osoba to tsumetai osoba dochira ga suki desuka?)
“Do you prefer hot soba or cold soba?”

• 「熱い (あつい / atsui / “hot”)」and「冷たい (つめたい / tsumetai / “cool” or “cold”」are words that describe the temperature felt when a part of the body touches something. When you want to say “warm”, you can say 「温かい (あたたかい or あったかい / atatakai or attakai)」. *The latter pronunciation is more casual and conversational.

Glossary:

• 熱い（あつい）: hot
• おそば: soba, buckwheat noodle *「お」 is a prefix to make it polite.
• 冷たい（つめたい）: cool, cold
• どちら: which
• 好き（すき）: to like