What does “itai” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “itai” to mean ‘painful’, ‘sore’, or ‘hurt’ in Japanese. Basically it is an i-adjective, but can also work as an interjection, especially in speaking, to mean ‘ouch’ in Japanese. In this blog post, I will explain this word with its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to use “itai” properly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
- Definition and meanings of “itai”
- Nai form of “itai”
- Ta form of “itai”
- Te form of “itai”
- Ba form of “itai”
- Summary
Definition and meanings of “itai”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “itai”.
- itai – 痛い (いたい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘painful’, ‘sore’, or ‘hurt’ in Japanese. This can also work as an interjection especially in speaking to mean ‘ouch’ in Japanese.
The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. Basically this is an i-adjective, but native speakers often use it as an interjection to say “ouch” in Japanese. It’s worth knowing.
Then, let me explain how to use “itai” through the example sentence below.
Example #1: how to say “sore” in Japanese
me ga itai – 目が痛い (めがいたい)
My eyes are sore.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- me – 目 (め) : a noun meaning ‘eye’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese 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 “me” to make the subject word in the sentence.
This is a typical usage of “itai”. When we want to say “sore” in Japanese, this is a very good option. In this example, it works as a complement in more or less the same way as “sore” does. So, Japanese learners, especially those who are familiar with English, can easily understand how it works, I think.
In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain major conjugations of “itai” which native speakers often use. The first one is “itakunai”.
Nai form of “itai”
Below are the definition and meanings of “itakunai”.
- itakunai – 痛くない (いたくない) : the nai form of “itai”, meaning ‘not painful’, ‘not sore’, or ‘not hurt’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “itakunai” consists of the following two parts:
- itaku – 痛く (いたく) : one conjugation of “itai”. 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 components, we can understand that “itakunai” is literally the nai form of “itai” and means ‘not painful’, ‘not sore’, or ‘not hurt’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to say “not sore” in Japanese
mabuta wa itakunai – 瞼は痛くない (まぶたはいたくない)
My eyelids are not sore.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- mabuta – 瞼 (まぶた) : a noun meaning ‘eyelid’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after “mabuta” to make the subject word in the sentence.
This is a typical usage of “itakunai”. When we want to say “not sore” in Japanese, this nai form is a good option. Native speakers actually use it very conveniently to mean “not sore”.
Ta form of “itai”
Below are the definition and meanings of “itakatta”.
- itakatta – 痛かった (いたかった) : the ta form of “itai”, meaning ‘was painful’, ‘was sore’, or ‘was hurt’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “itakatta” consists of the following two parts:
- itakat – 痛かっ (いたかっ) : one conjugation of “itai”. This can have a smooth connection with “ta”.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ta form.
From these two components, we can understand that “itakatta” is literally the ta form of “itai”. In Japanese, ta forms of words can work as their past tense forms. So, we can say “itakatta” to mean ‘was painful’, ‘was sore’, or ‘was hurt’ in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #3: how to say “were sore” in Japanese
kinou mo me ga itakatta – 昨日も目が痛かった (きのうもめがいたかった)
My eyes were sore yesterday, too.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kinou – 昨日 (きのう) : a noun meaning ‘yesterday’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb.
- mo – も : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker with adding the meaning of ‘also’, ‘too’, or ‘as well’. In this example, this follows “kinou” to provide a topic with adding the meaning of ‘too’.
This is a typical usage of “itakatta”. This is very helpful when we want to use the past tense form of “itai”.
Te form of “itai”
Below are the definition and meanings of “itakute”.
- itakute – 痛くて (いたくて) : the te form of “itai”, meaning ‘painful’, ‘sore’, or ‘hurt’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “itakute” consists of the following two parts:
- itaku – 痛く (いたく) : one conjugation of “itai”. 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 components, we can understand that “itakute” is literally the te form of “itai”. In Japanese, te forms of words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. Actually, “itakute” is very useful when we want to use “itai” before another adjective or a verb with a smooth connection. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #4: how to say “sore and” in Japanese
me ga itakute akai – 目が痛くて赤い (めがいたくてあかい)
My eyes are sore and red.
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- akai – 赤い (あかい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘red’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “itakute”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with “akai”. Like this, when we want to use “itai” before another adjective, its te form is very useful.
Ba form of “itai”
Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “itakereba”.
- itakereba – 痛ければ (いたければ) : the ba form of “itai”, working to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘painful’, ‘sore’, or ‘hurt’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “itakereba” consists of the following two parts:
- itakere – 痛けれ (いたけれ) : one conjugation of “itai”. 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 components, we can understand that “itakereba” is literally the ba form of “itai”. In Japanese, ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, “itakereba” is very useful when we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘painful’, ‘sore’, or ‘hurt’. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #5: how to say “if sore” in Japanese
me ga itakereba megusuri wo tsukat te kudasai – 目が痛ければ目薬を使ってください (めがいたければめぐすりをつかってください)
If your eyes are sore, please use eye drops.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- megusuri – 目薬 (めぐすり) : a noun meaning ‘eye drops’ in Japanese.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “megusuri” to make the object word in the sentence.
- tsukat – 使っ (つかっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “tsukau”, which means ‘to use’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- te – て : the same as used in “itakute”. In this example, this is used after “tsukat” to make its te form, “tsukat te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “kudasai”.
- kudasai – ください : the command form of the verb, “kudasaru”, which means ‘to give’ in Japanese. When this follows a te-formed verb, however, it can work as an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’ to the preceding verb.
This is a typical usage of “itakereba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “me ga itakereba”, which means ‘if your eyes are sore’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘painful’, ‘sore’, or ‘hurt’ in Japanese, this ba form is useful.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained “itai” and its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- itai – 痛い (いたい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘painful’, ‘sore’, or ‘hurt’ in Japanese. This can also work as an interjection especially in speaking to mean ‘ouch’ in Japanese.
- itakunai – 痛くない (いたくない) : the nai form of “itai”, meaning ‘not painful’, ‘not sore’, or ‘not hurt’ in Japanese.
- itakatta – 痛かった (いたかった) : the ta form of “itai”, meaning ‘was painful’, ‘was sore’, or ‘was hurt’ in Japanese.
- itakute – 痛くて (いたくて) : the te form of “itai”, meaning ‘painful’, ‘sore’, or ‘hurt’ in Japanese. When we want to use “itai” before another adjective or a verb with a smooth connection, this te form is very useful.
- itakereba – 痛ければ (いたければ) : the ba form of “itai”, working to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘painful’, ‘sore’, or ‘hurt’ in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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