薄い (うすい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

薄うすい

う

す

い

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

薄い · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	薄うすい	薄うすくない
Polite	薄うすいです	薄うすくないですalso 薄うすくありません
Past polite	薄うすかったです	薄うすくなかったですalso 薄うすくありませんでした
Past	薄うすかった	薄うすくなかった
Te-form	薄うすくて	薄うすくなくて
Adverbial	薄うすく
Conditional	薄うすければ	薄うすくなければ
Tara conditional	薄うすかったら	薄うすくなかったら

Meanings

i-adjective

thin; not thick

Used for physical thickness, especially flat objects such as paper, cloth, boards, walls, or layers.

この紙かみは薄うすくて、すぐ破やぶれそうだ

Kanji

薄dilute, thin, weak (tea)

Related words· 6

淡あわいN1sense 2
淡い is a softer, more literary word for pale colors or faint feelings, while 薄い is the everyday word covering the same idea plus thickness and concentration.
希き薄はくN1sense 4
希薄 is a more formal, abstract word for a weak or thin presence (e.g. 危機感が希薄), whereas 薄い is the plain, everyday adjective used in speech.
ペール
薄い describes a thin or faint color (among other meanings) and is the everyday word, whereas ペール specifically evokes a washed-out, pastel-like pale shade in fashion/design speech.
ライトN4
薄い describes something faint or thin, like a weak flavor or pale color, similar to how ライト describes something mild, but 薄い can also mean physically thin.

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まばらN1
薄い means 'thin' in thickness, density, or concentration, whereas まばら focuses on scattered spacing rather than thinness of a layer.
うっすらN1
薄い is an adjective meaning 'thin' or 'pale', while うっすら is an adverb describing a slight degree, so うっすら often modifies verbs where 薄い would describe a noun.

Opposites· 5

厚あついN5sense 1
厚い describes physical thickness (a thick book, thick paper), the direct opposite of 薄い in its 'thin' sense.
濃こいN4
濃い means dark, strong, or concentrated, the usual opposite of 薄い when talking about color, flavor, or a liquid's strength.
分ぶ厚あつい

Don't confuse with

細ほそいN5sense 1
細い means slender or narrow in width (a thin line or thin arm), while 薄い describes thinness in depth or layer, so learners must not swap the two for something like a thin book.
雨あま水みず
薄い (うすい) means 'thin/weak' and is unrelated in meaning, but it is pronounced identically to the solar-term reading of 雨水 (うすい), so learners may confuse the two.
薄うすまるN2

Word family· 94

薄うすれる
fade; become dim; grow faint
薄うすめ
thinnish; somewhat thin; weakish; rather light; rather pale
品しな薄うす
shortage of stock; scarcity of goods; in short supply
薄うす毛げ

Written forms

薄うすいUsage92%
Standard common kanji spelling for the adjective うすい.
うすいUsage8%

Etymology

A native Japanese adjective read うすい. The kanji 薄 is conventionally associated with thinness, paleness, weakness, and lack of density; the exact historical derivation of the word is not specified.

薄うすい

Meanings

Usage patterns

Expressions· 14