ひどい (hidoi) Japanese meaning: cruel | Kotomora

ひどい

ひ

ど

い

Common wordJLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

ひどい · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	ひどい	ひどくない
Polite	ひどいです	ひどくないですalso ひどくありません
Past polite	ひどかったです	ひどくなかったですalso ひどくありませんでした
Past	ひどかった	ひどくなかった
Te-form	ひどくて	ひどくなくて
Adverbial	ひどく
Conditional	ひどければ	ひどくなければ
Tara conditional	ひどかったら	ひどくなかったら

Meanings

i-adjective

cruel; heartless; harsh

usually written using kana alone

Describes actions, words, or treatment that are cruel, unkind, or harsh toward someone.

Kanji

酷cruel, severe, atrocious
非un-, mistake, negative
道road-way, street, district

Related words· 10

残ざん酷こくN1sense 1
残酷 is a more formal, literary word for cruelty or brutality, while ひどい is the everyday word covering the same idea plus many other negative senses.
激はげしいN3sense 2
激しい focuses on intensity or violence of force (激しい雨), whereas ひどい in this sense adds a negative, 'too much to bear' nuance.
最さい悪あくN3sense 3
最悪 is a stronger, more absolute way of saying 'the worst', while ひどい is the more general, milder word for 'terrible'.
理り不ふ尽じん sense 4
理不尽 stresses that something is illogical or unfair, while ひどい in this sense simply says it goes beyond reasonable limits.

Show 6 more

甚はなはだしいN2
ひどい is the everyday word for something bad or severe, while 甚だしい is a more formal, written word emphasizing that a degree is extreme.
酷こく
ひどい is the common, everyday word for something awful or terrible, while 酷 is a more formal, literary word often used to modify nouns like 仕打ち or in set phrases.
悪わるいN5
ひどい expresses a stronger, more emotional sense of terrible or severe, whereas 悪い is the plain, neutral word for bad.
やばいN1
ひどい means 'terrible' or 'cruel' in a more general, neutral register, while やばい is casual slang used for the same idea of something awful.

Opposites

優やさしいN5sense 1
優しい describes kind, gentle behavior, the direct opposite of ひどい meaning cruel or heartless.
素す晴ばらしいN4sense 3
素晴らしい means wonderful or excellent, the opposite evaluation of ひどい meaning terrible or awful.
ファンタスティック
ひどい means 'terrible' or 'awful', the opposite of the glowing praise expressed by ファンタスティック.

Don't confuse with

すごいN5sense 3
凄い is usually a positive exclamation ('amazing'), while ひどい is almost always negative, so learners must not swap them even though both can intensify a statement.

Word family

こっぴどい
really terrible; awful; extremely harsh
ひどく
terribly; awfully; extremely; severely
ひどすぎる
egregious; outrageous; too much; over the top

Written forms

ひどいUsage88%
Usually written in kana; the kanji form 酷い is also common but less frequent.
酷ひどいUsage10%
Common kanji spelling, though kana is more frequent overall.
ヒドイUsage1%
search-only kana form
ヒドいUsage<1%
search-only kana form

Etymology

Derived from the classical adjective ひどし, meaning 'cruel' or 'severe'. The kanji 酷 carries the meaning of 'cruel' or 'severe', while 非道い is an ateji-like usage emphasizing 'unreasonable' or 'unjust'.

Meanings

Usage patterns