寂さびしい

also: さみしい

さ

び

し

い

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

i-adjective

lonely; lonesome; solitary; desolate

Describes a feeling of emotional loneliness, missing someone or something, or a place that feels empty and forlorn.

友とも達だちが引ひっ越こしてしまって、寂さびしい。
I feel lonely because my friend moved away.

冬ふゆの海かい岸がんは寂さびしい風ふう景けいだ。

The winter beach is a desolate scene.

Written forms

寂しいUsage61%
- さびしい
  Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
- さみしい
淋しいUsage20%
- さびしい
  Alternative kanji spelling; also common but less frequent than 寂しい.
- さみしい
さびしいUsage12%
Kana spelling; often used in informal writing or when the kanji is not needed.
さみしいUsage7%
Colloquial variant reading; common in spoken Japanese and informal writing.

Kanji

寂loneliness, quietly, mellow
淋lonely, deserted

Similar words

孤こ独どく
孤独 is a noun/adjective meaning 'solitude' or 'isolation', often with a heavier, more existential nuance than 寂しい, which is a more everyday emotional adjective.
侘わびしい
侘しい also means 'lonely' or 'dreary', but often emphasizes a bleak, miserable, or poverty-stricken atmosphere, whereas 寂しい can be a softer, more personal feeling of missing someone.

Etymology

Derived from classical Japanese adjective さぶし (sabushi), which originally meant 'desolate' or 'lonely'. The modern form さびしい developed through regular sound changes. The variant さみしい is a colloquial shift.