Common word› JLPT N5 › Freq. Frequency Top 2,000 Conjugation 甘い · i-adjective
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 甘あま い 甘あま くない Polite 甘あま いです 甘あま くないです also 甘あま くありません Past polite 甘あま かったです 甘あま くなかったです also 甘あま くありませんでした Past 甘あま かった 甘あま くなかった Te-form 甘あま くて 甘あま くなくて Adverbial 甘あま く Conditional 甘あま ければ 甘あま くなければ Tara conditional 甘あま かったら 甘あま くなかったら
Meanings Jump to a sense… 1. sweet; sugary 2. sweet (smell, sound); fragrant; melodious 3. lightly salted; mild; not spicy 4. naive; overly optimistic; soft 5. half-hearted; insufficient; lax 6. tempting; enticing; sweet (words) Usage patterns 〈 人ひと 〉 の 考かんが えが 甘あま い someone's thinking/plan is naive
Thinking you'll succeed that easily is pretty naive of you.
〈 物もの 〉 の 味あじ 付つ けが 甘あま い the seasoning of something is mild, not too salty
This miso soup is mildly seasoned, not too salty.
〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 の 警けい 備び が 甘あま い security at a place is lax
Security in this building is lax, so you should be careful.
Expressions· 16 甘あま い 声こえ sweet voice; seductive voice 女おんな に 甘あま い soft on women; having a weakness for women 甘あま かない not easy; not lenient; not soft Show 3 more Show fewer 甘あま く 見み る not take seriously; take lightly; underestimate 脇わき が 甘あま い poor at preventing an underarm grip · having weak defenses; off guard; vulnerable 子こ 供ども に 甘あま い indulgent with one's children; soft on one's children See all 16 in Explore →
Related words· 9 生ぬるい describes an attitude or measure as lukewarm and insufficiently strict, similar to 甘い used for lax discipline but more focused on tepidness of effort.
甘っちょろい is a colloquial, more disparaging way to call thinking naive or shallow, stronger in tone than 甘い .
甘い is the native Japanese word for 'sweet' used broadly for taste and figurative sweetness, while スイート is a loanword often reserved for stylish or Western-style contexts like desserts, drinks, and product names.
甘い is the everyday word for sweetness in taste or figurative charm, while 甘美 is a literary word reserved for richly pleasant or aesthetically sweet things.
Show 5 more Show fewer 甘い broadly means lenient or indulgent in many contexts, whereas のろい narrows this to being weak-willed and easily swayed toward someone of the opposite sex.
甘い is the plain adjective for 'sweet' or 'naive', while 甘口 is a noun/adjectival-noun typically used to classify a type of food, drink, or speech as mild or flattering.
甘い can mean lenient or naive in a general sense, while ちょろい is a more colloquial way to call someone's rules or thinking too soft.
甘い describes leniency in a casual, often critical sense (being too soft), whereas 寛大 is a positive, formal word for being magnanimous.
甘い can mean 'lenient' toward someone's mistakes, similar to 緩い describing lax rules, but 甘い also has unrelated core meanings like 'sweet' and 'naive'.
Opposites· 10 辛い means spicy or strongly salted for taste, and strict or harsh for attitude, the opposite of 甘い in both literal and figurative senses.
厳しい describes a strict, demanding attitude or standard, the opposite of 甘い when it means lenient or lax.
甘い describes a sweet taste, the direct opposite of the sour taste described by 酸っぱい .
Show 7 more Show fewer 甘い describes lenient or indulgent treatment, the opposite of the harsh discipline implied by スパルタ .
甘い means 'sweet', the direct taste opposite of 苦い 'bitter'.
甘い (sweet) is the basic taste opposite of 塩辛い (salty).
甘い describes a sweet taste, the opposite of the astringent, harsh taste described by 渋い .
甘い describes standards or judgments that are lax or lenient, the opposite of シビア 's demanding strictness.
しょっぱい describes a salty taste while 甘い describes a sweet one, the two basic tastes learners contrast most often.
甘い means sweet-tasting, the opposite of the harsh, acrid taste described by えぐい .
Don't confuse with 甘ったるい means cloyingly, excessively sweet with a negative nuance, while 甘い is the neutral or positive word for sweetness.
甘い means simply 'sweet', while 甘酸っぱい adds a sour component to describe a mixed sweet-and-sour taste or feeling.
甘い (あまい ) and うまい sound similar but 甘い specifically means 'sweet', not 'delicious in general' or 'skillful'.
甘い is an adjective meaning 'sweet' or 'lenient', while 甘やかす is the verb meaning to actively spoil or pamper someone.
Word family· 61 overdependence; presumed indulgence; attention-seeking behavior
sweetness; sweet taste · sweets; dessert; cake
pamper; spoil; coddle
amazake; sweet low-alcohol sake; fermented rice drink
sweet and sour · bittersweet (feeling)
Show 25 more Show fewer act spoiled; fawn on; seek affection · take advantage of; presume upon; depend on
sweet taste; mildness · flattery; sweet talk · stupidity; foolishness
content oneself with; be resigned to; accept
sweet tooth; person who prefers sweets over alcohol
sentimental; mushy; saccharine · sickly-sweet; sugary
sweet and salty; sweet-salty flavor
overreliance on others; excessive babyishness · spoiled person; person who acts like a baby
sweet vinegar
broiled sweet chestnuts
salty-sweet; sweet and salty
content oneself with; accept; be resigned to
amanatto; sugar-coated beans
Hydrangea macrophylla var. thunbergii; sweet hydrangea plant · sweet hydrangea leaf tea; hydrangea tea
thick amazake; thick sweet sake
amago; land-locked red-spotted masu trout
lenient; overly soft; too easygoing · overoptimistic; too hopeful; naively optimistic
super-sweet; sickly-sweet · overly kind; overly soft (on someone)
sweet; sugary
sweetish; somewhat sweet; on the sweet side · somewhat lenient; kind of optimistic; on the generous side
lightly salted; mildly salted
amanatsu; Japanese summer orange
sweet persimmon
eating sweet food; sweets indulgence
Amaou; Amaou strawberry
cuticle; nail cuticle · endocarp
See all 61 in Explore →
Written forms 甘あま い Usage 96%
Standard kanji spelling for all senses.
あまい Usage 4%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing, especially for figurative senses.
アマイ Usage <1%
Etymology The origin is uncertain, but it is a native Japanese word. The kanji 甘 is conventionally associated with sweetness and mildness.
Report an issue with this page
Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.