Translation guide
The English word 'narrow' describes something of small width, limited scope, or a close margin. This guide covers how to express these ideas naturally in Japanese.
Describing a physical space, object, or passage that is not wide.
This room is narrow.
The road is so narrow that cars can't pass.
Means 'narrow' for cylindrical or long, thin objects like a stick, finger, or line. Not for spaces like rooms.
She has slender fingers.
I walked along a narrow path.
Literally 'width is narrow'. Used in more technical or precise descriptions, like for roads, bridges, or objects.
This bridge is narrow.
Describing a narrow range of options, knowledge, interests, etc.
Describing a narrow victory, escape, or margin.
Adverb meaning 'barely' or 'narrowly'. Used with verbs like win, escape, pass, etc.
Means 'by a narrow margin', often used in sports or competitions.
They won by a narrow margin.
Means 'by a hair's breadth', used for very close escapes or near misses.
He escaped by a narrow margin.
To make a list or selection smaller.
狭い is for spaces and areas (rooms, roads, gaps). 細い is for objects that are thin in diameter (fingers, sticks, lines). Using 狭い for a person's body would mean they are 'cramped', not slender.
This hallway is narrow.
This pen is thin.
The options are narrow/limited.
The scope of the investigation was narrow.
I made it just in time (by a narrow margin).
We need to narrow the scope of the investigation.