Usage patterns ドライな 性せい 格かく a matter-of-fact, unsentimental personality
He has a very matter-of-fact, unsentimental personality.
ドライな 空くう 気き dry air
In winter the dry air makes my skin rough.
ドライな 白しろ ワイン a dry white wine
This restaurant's dry white wine is popular.
ドライな 関かん 係けい a detached, no-strings-attached relationship
The two of them keep a detached, no-strings relationship.
ドライに 考かんが える to think about something in a businesslike, unsentimental way
He always looks at things in a coldly practical way.
Related words 乾燥 is the standard Japanese noun/verb for physical dryness or drying, whereas ドライ is a katakana adjective often used in product descriptions, skin, and style contexts.
辛口 is the common Japanese word for a dry (not sweet) drink and can also mean sharply critical, while ドライ covers the same 'not sweet' sense for drinks but also means emotionally detached or businesslike.
冷静 describes being calm and level-headed especially under pressure, while ドライ describes a habitually unsentimental, businesslike attitude regardless of the situation.
現実的 means realistic or pragmatic in approach, while ドライ specifically implies a lack of emotional involvement or sentimentality, which can sound colder than 現実的 .
Opposites wet; moist · soft-hearted; sentimental
ドライ describes an alcoholic drink with little sweetness, while スイート describes one that is sweet — they are opposites specifically for taste in drinks.
sweet (flavour) · sweet (of alcohol) · sweet; pleasant; delightful
Word family· 28 driver; motorist · screwdriver · driver; golf club · device driver; driver
hair dryer; dryer; blower
dry eye syndrome; keratoconjunctivitis sicca
dry ice
dry cleaning
Show 10 more Show fewer dry gin
dry run; test run
dry area
dry cut
dry skin
dry suit
dry beer
dry fly
dry mouth; xerostomia
dry milk; powdered milk
See all 28 in Explore →
Etymology Katakana spelling. No language of origin is specified. Historically it is best treated here simply as a katakana word associated with the meanings 'dry,' 'unemotional,' and 'dry alcohol.'
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