太い · i-adjective
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 太い | 太くない |
| Polite | 太いです | 太くないですalso 太くありません |
| Past polite | 太かったです | 太くなかったですalso 太くありませんでした |
| Past | 太かった | 太くなかった |
| Te-form | 太くて | 太くなくて |
| Adverbial | 太く | |
| Conditional | 太ければ | 太くなければ |
| Tara conditional | 太かったら | 太くなかったら |
Describes physical thickness of objects, body parts, or lines. For people, 太い can mean 'fat' but is less polite than 太っている.
The trunk of this tree is very thick.
He has thick legs.
Used for low-pitched, resonant voices. Often collocates with 声.
He speaks in a deep voice.
Describes a person who is thick-skinned, bold, or unashamed in a negative way. Often used in phrases like 太い奴 or 太い神経.
He's a brazen guy to tell a lie like that.
She has a lot of nerve.
My legs got thicker from lack of exercise.
He's so thick-skinned that he can lie boldly right in front of people.
His baritone voice resounded deep and rich.
I wrote the title in bold with a pen.
厚さ measures the thickness of flat objects like paper or boards, whereas 太い describes girth or diameter, as of a rope or tree trunk.
太 is a prefix/noun used inside compounds like 太字, while 太い is the independent i-adjective meaning 'thick' that can stand alone as a predicate.
太い is the plain adjective for 'thick/fat' with full force, whereas 太め softens it to 'somewhat thick' or 'on the thick side'.
大 and 太 look similar and are often mixed up by beginners, but 太い means 'thick' (referring to girth), not 'large' in scale like 大.
generous; big-hearted; broad-minded
very thick; extremely thick · thick, heavy thread
plump; on the thick side; somewhat large
big-boned; sturdily built; stout · solid; robust; well-constructed
bold; shameless; cheeky; impudent
softstem bulrush; Scirpus tabernaemontani
audacious; bold; impudent · throaty; rough; deep (voice)
fatty; fatso
overweight; excess weight
medium thickness; medium width
thicker towards the end; club-shaped
scapulimancy; scapulomancy
big spender; whale
thick-bordered box; thick-bordered table
thick-necked shamisen
drapery; cloth (cotton, hemp, etc., as opposed to silk)
thick eyebrows
kagura flute (six-holed horizontal flute)
festive chopsticks; thick round chopsticks for celebrations