しかり

し

か

り

Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

usually written using kana alone

Archaic or formal interjection meaning 'yes' or 'it is so'. Not used in modern everyday speech; may appear in historical or literary contexts.

「されば、しかり」と老ろう人じんはうなずいた。
"Indeed, yes," the old man nodded.

irregular -ru verb (-ri ending), intransitive verb

to be so

archaic

Archaic verb meaning 'to be so' or 'to be like that'. The plain form しかり is the dictionary form of an irregular ru-verb. Modern Japanese uses そうである or その通りである instead.

古こ語ごに曰いわく、「然しかり」と。
An old word says, 'It is so.'

See all 18 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈事こと〉も然しかりthe same holds true for X as well
文ぶん学がくもまたそうだが、音おん楽がくも然しかり。
The same is true of literature, and it's true of music as well.

Expressions

逆ぎゃくも然しかりvice versa; the reverse is also true
逆ぎゃくもまた然しかりvice versa; the reverse is also true

Kanji

然sort of thing, so, if so
爾you, thou, second person

Related words

そうだ sense 2
そうだ is the modern, everyday way to say 'it is so', while 然り is an archaic or literary equivalent rarely used in conversation.
はいN5sense 1
はい is the standard modern word for 'yes', whereas 然り is an old-fashioned or formal interjection with the same meaning.

Opposites

否いな sense 1
否 is the archaic word for 'no', forming the classical opposite of 然り 'yes'.

Written forms

しかりUsage60%
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 然り and 爾り are rare and archaic.
然しかりUsage40%
Rare kanji form; may be encountered in classical or literary contexts.
爾しかり
rarely-used kanji form
Very rare kanji form; it is rarely used.

Etymology

A contraction of classical 然かあり, “to be so,” comprising 然か, “so,” and あり, “to be.”