What does “akumu” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “akumu” to mean ‘nightmare’ in Japanese. Very simple, I think. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “akumu” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “akumu”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “akumu”.
- akumu – 悪夢 (あくむ) : a noun meaning ‘nightmare’ or just ‘bad dream’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.
Japanese people use this noun to refer to a nightmare or bad dream. Sometimes they use it as a metaphor for a very bad thing. So, it can work in very similar ways that the English word, “nightmare”, does.
The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
“Akumu” in kanji
The kanji expression of “akumu” consists of the following two characters:
- 悪 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘bad’, ‘evil’, or such in Japanese.
- 夢 : a kanji character used to mean ‘dream’ in Japanese.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “akumu” literally means ‘a bad dream’ in Japanese. So, what its kanji characters express is completely in line with its meanings.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “akumu” through the detailed kanji check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “akumu” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “nightmare” in Japanese
watashi wa tokidoki akumu wo miru – 私は時々悪夢を見る (わたしはときどきあくむをみる)
I sometimes have a nightmare.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- tokidoki – 時々 (ときどき) : an adverb of frequency, meaning ‘sometimes’ in Japanese.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “akumu” to make the object word in the sentence.
- miru – 見る (みる) : a verb meaning ‘to see’, ‘to watch’, ‘to look’, or such in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “akumu”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “akumu wo miru”, which literally means ‘to see a nightmare’ in Japanese. This expression is normally translated into English as just ‘to have a nightmare’, though. Anyway, when we want to say “nightmare” or just “bad dream” in Japanese, this noun is a very good choice.
Example #2: another usage of “akumu”
kare wa kinou akumu wo mi ta to it ta – 彼は昨日悪夢を見たと言った (かれはきのうあくむをみたといった)
He said he had a nightmare yesterday.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- kinou – 昨日 (きのう) : a noun meaning ‘yesterday’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb. In this example, actually, this works as an adverb to say “yesterday” in Japanese.
- mi – 見 (み) : one conjugation of the verb, “miru”, which has been explained in the last example. In this example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ta form. In the Japanese language, ta forms of words can work as their past tense forms. In this example, this is used after “mi” to make its past tense form, “mi ta”, which means ‘to have seen’ in Japanese.
- to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works after the clause, “kinou akumu wo mi ta”, to indicate what “kare” said.
- it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu”, which means ‘to say’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : the same as explained above. The second one works after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”, which means ‘to have said’ in Japanese.
This is another typical usage of “akumu”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “akumu wo mi ta”, which literally means ‘to have seen a nightmare’ in Japanese. This expression should be learnt together with its present tense form introduced in the last example.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “akumu” and its kanji expression in detail. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- akumu – 悪夢 (あくむ) : a noun meaning ‘nightmare’ or just ‘bad dream’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. These two kanji characters mean ‘bad’ and ‘dream’ respectively, so what the kanji characters express is completely in line with the meanings.
- akumu wo miru – 悪夢を見る (あくむをみる) : a commonly-used expression meaning ‘to have a nightmare’. This expression literally means ‘to see a nightmare’ in Japanese, but normally is translated into English as ‘to have a nightmare’.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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