What does “hiroi” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “hiroi” to mean ‘wide’, ‘broad’, or ‘spacious’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese textbooks. In this blog post, however, I will explain it together with its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to use “hiroi” more properly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
- Definition and meanings of “hiroi”
- Hirokunai: the nai form of “hiroi”
- Hirokatta: the ta form of “hiroi”
- Hirokute: the te form of “hiroi”
- Hirokereba: the ba form of “hiroi”
- Summary
Definition and meanings of “hiroi”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “hiroi”.
- hiroi – 広い (ひろい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘wide’, ‘broad’, or ‘spacious’ in Japanese.
Native speakers use this i-adjective to describe something large in width or something spacious. So, this can work in very similar ways that the above English adjectives do.
The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. Then, let me explain how to use this i-adjective through the example sentence below.
Example #1: how to say “spacious” in Japanese
kono otearai wa hiroi – このお手洗いは広い (このおてあらいはひろい)
This restroom is spacious.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kono – この : a determiner used before a noun referring to a thing close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “otearai” to say “this restroom” in Japanese.
- otearai – お手洗い (おてあらい) : a noun meaning ‘restroom’ or ‘bathroom’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kono otearai” to make the subject in the sentence.
This is a typical usage of “hiroi”. In the example, it works as a complement. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier in front of a noun. For example, we can say “kono hiroi otearai” to mean ‘this spacious restroom’ in Japanese. It’s worth knowing, I think. When we want to say “spacious” in Japanese, anyway, this i-adjective is a very good option.
By the way, we can sometimes find a spacious and luxurious restroom in Japan. It’s very enjoyable, to be honest.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “hiroi” and how to use it through the example sentence. In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain its major conjugations. The first one is “hirokunai”.
Hirokunai: the nai form of “hiroi”
Below are the definition and meanings of “hirokunai”.
- hirokunai – 広くない (ひろくない) : the nai form of “hiroi”, which means ‘not wide’, ‘not broad’, or ‘not spacious’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “hirokunai” consists of the following two parts:
- hiroku – 広く (ひろく) : one conjugation of “hiroi”. This can have a smooth connection with “nai”.
- nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is similar to that of “not”.
From these two parts, we can understand that “hirokunai” is literally the nai form of “hiroi” and means ‘not wide’, ‘not broad’, or ‘not spacious’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this nai form through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to say “not spacious” in Japanese
kono heya wa hirokunai – この部屋は広くない (このへやはひろくない)
This room is not spacious.
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- heya – 部屋 (へや) : a noun meaning ‘room’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
This is a typical usage of “hirokunai”. When we want to mean ‘not spacious’ in Japanese, this nai form is a good option.
Hirokatta: the ta form of “hiroi”
Below are the definition and meanings of “hirokatta”.
- hirokatta – 広かった (ひろかった) : the ta form of “hiroi”, which means ‘was wide’, ‘was broad’, ‘was spacious’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, “hirokatta” consists of the following two parts:
- hirokat – 広かっ (ひろかっ) : one conjugation of “hiroi”. This can have a smooth connection with “ta”.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “hirokatta” is literally the ta form of “hiroi” and means ‘was wide’, ‘was broad’, ‘was spacious’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #3: how to say “was spacious” in Japanese
kare no kuruma wa hirokatta – 彼の車は広かった (かれのくるまはひろかった)
His car was spacious.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “kare” to make its possessive case, “kare no”, which means ‘his’ in Japanese.
- kuruma – 車 (くるま) : a noun meaning ‘car’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
This is a typical usage of “hirokatta”. When we want to use the past tense form of “hiroi”, this ta form is the best option.
Hirokute: the te form of “hiroi”
Below are the definition and meanings of “hirokute”.
- hirokute – 広くて (ひろくて) : the te form of “hiroi”, which means ‘wide’, ‘broad’, or ‘spacious’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “hirokute” consists of the following two parts:
- hiroku – 広く (ひろく) : one conjugation of “hiroi”. This can have a smooth connection with “te”.
- te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “hirokute” is literally the te form of “hiroi”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “hirokute” is very useful when we want to use “hiroi” in front of another adjective, a verb, or an auxiliary verb. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #4: how to say “wide and” in Japanese
kono michi wa hirokute nagai – この道は広くて長い (このみちはひろくてながい)
This road is wide and long.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- michi – 道 (みち) : a noun meaning ‘road’ or such in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- nagai – 長い (ながい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘long’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “hirokute”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with “nagai”. When we want to use “hiroi” in front of another adjective like this, its te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
Hirokereba: the ba form of “hiroi”
Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “hirokereba”.
- hirokereba – 広ければ (ひろければ) : the ba form of “hiroi”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘wide’, ‘broad’, or ‘spacious’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “hirokereba” consists of the following two parts:
- hirokere – 広けれ (ひろけれ) : one conjugation of “hiroi”. This can have a smooth connection with “ba”.
- ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “hirokereba” is literally the ba form of “hiroi”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “hirokereba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘wide’, ‘broad’, or ‘spacious’. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #5: how to say “if spacious” in Japanese
ie ga hirokereba, kai tai desu – 家が広ければ、買いたいです (かいたいです)
If the house is spacious, I want to buy it.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- ie – 家 (いえ) : a noun meaning ‘house’ or ‘home’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “ie” to make the subject in the conditional clause.
- kai – 買い (かい) : one conjugation of the verb, “kau“, which means ‘to buy’ or ‘to purchase’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- tai – たい : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make its desire form. In the example, this is used after “kai” to make its desire form, “kai tai”, which means ‘to want to buy’ in Japanese.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “kai tai” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “hirokereba”. In the example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “ie ga hirokereba”, which means ‘if the house is spacious’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘spacious’, this ba form is a good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of ‘hiroi’ together with its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- hiroi – 広い (ひろい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘wide’, ‘broad’, or ‘spacious’ in Japanese.
- hirokunai – 広くない (ひろくない) : the nai form of “hiroi”, which means ‘not wide’, ‘not broad’, or ‘not spacious’ in Japanese.
- hirokatta – 広かった (ひろかった) : the ta form of “hiroi”, which means ‘was wide’, ‘was broad’, ‘was spacious’, or such in Japanese.
- hirokute – 広くて (ひろくて) : the te form of “hiroi”, which means ‘wide’, ‘broad’, or ‘spacious’ in Japanese. When we want to use “hiroi” in front of another adjective, this te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
- hirokereba – 広ければ (ひろければ) : the ba form of “hiroi”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘wide’, ‘broad’, or ‘spacious’ in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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