Kawaii is the Japanese word for ‘cute’, explained

What does “kawaii” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “kawaii” often to mean ‘cute’ in Japanese. Probably, many Japanese learners know this word as it is often used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain its major conjugations with example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “kawaii” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “kawaii”
• What does “kawaii” literally mean in Japanese?
  • Example #1: how to say “cute” in Japanese
• Kawaikunai: the nai form of “kawaii”
  • Example #2: how to say “not cute” in Japanese
• Kawaikatta: the ta form of “kawaii”
  • Example #3: how to say “was cute” in Japanese
• Kawaikute: the te form of “kawaii”
  • Example #4: how to say “cute and” in Japanese
• Kawaikereba: the ba form of “kawaii”
  • Example #5: how to say “if cute” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “kawaii”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “kawaii”.

• kawaii – 可愛い (かわいい) : an i-adjectivne meaning ‘cute’ or ‘pretty’ in Japanese.

Native speakers use this i-adjective to describe something cute or pretty in Japanese. This can be both a modifier and a complement. So, this can work in more or less the same way as the English adjectives like “cute” and “pretty” do.

The definition and meanings are simple and clear. To understand this adjective more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail.

What does “kawaii” literally mean in Japanese?

The kanji expression of “kawaii” was made for the phonetic equivalent: the kanji characters were picked just to make the same pronunciation as its original hiragana expression. Interestingly, however, the picked kanji characters help us understand the concept of “kawaii”. So, let me explain them as follows, one by one:

• 可 : a kanji character often used to mean ‘possible’ or ‘acceptable’. In addition, this kanji is sometimes used as a prefix or suffix to add the meaning of ‘-able’.
• 愛 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘love’.

These two kanji characters tell us that “kawaii” literally means ‘love-able’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meanings, but still very close, I think. Love-able things are often cute or pretty. Interestingly, its structure is very similar to that of the English word, “adorable”. Perhaps, the things with which we can have the feeling of love are common in both languages.

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 the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “kawaii” through the detailed kanji check above.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “kawaii” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “cute” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• akachan – 赤ちゃん (あかちゃん) : a noun meaning ‘baby’ 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 “akachan” to make the subject in the sentence.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “kawaii” to make it sound polite.
• ne – ね : a sentence-ending particle used to ask for agreement softly. As the definition suggests, this is used at the end of the example sentence to mean “aren’t they?” in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “kawaii”. In this example, it works as the complement. Again, but it can also work as a modifier in front of a noun. For example, we can say “kawaii akachan” to mean ‘cute babies’ in Japanese. The roles of “kawaii” are very similar to those of “cute” in English. So, Japanese learners, especially those who are familiar with English, can easily understand how to use this Japanese i-adjective, I think.

In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain the major conjugations of “kawaii”. The first one is “kawaikunai”.

Kawaikunai: the nai form of “kawaii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kawaikunai”.

• kawaikunai – 可愛くない (かわいくない) : the nai form of “kawaii”, which means ‘not cute’ or ‘not pretty’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “kawaikunai” consists of the following two parts:

• kawaiku – 可愛く (かわいく) : one conjugation of “kawaii”. 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 “kawaikunai” is literally the nai form of “kawaii” and means ‘not cute’ or ‘not pretty’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “not cute” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ 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 “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
• kareshi – 彼氏 (かれし) : a noun meaning ‘boyfriend’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “kawaikunai”. When we want to say “not cute” in Japanese, this nai form is a very good option.

Kawaikatta: the ta form of “kawaii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kawaikatta”.

• kawaikatta – 可愛かった (かわいかった) : the ta form of “kawaii”, which means ‘was cute’, ‘was pretty’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “kawaikatta” consists of the following two parts:

• kawaikat – 可愛かっ (かわいかっ) : one conjugation of “kawaii”. 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 “kawaikatta” is literally the ta form of “kawaii” and means ‘was cute’, ‘was pretty’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “was cute” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• mukashi – 昔 (むかし) : a noun meaning ‘the past’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb in the middle of the sentence to say “before”.

This is a typical usage of “kawaikatta”. When we want to use the past tense form of “kawaii”, this form is the best option.

Kawaikute: the te form of “kawaii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kawaikute”.

• kawaikute – 可愛くて (かわいくて) : the te form of “kawaii”, which means ‘cute’ or ‘pretty’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “kawaikute” consists of the following two parts:

• kawaiku – 可愛く (かわいく) : one conjugation of “kawaii”. 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 “kawaikute” is literally the te form of “kawaii”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “kawaikute” is very useful when we want to use “kawaii” in front of another adjective or a verb. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to say “cute and” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• musume – 娘 (むすめ) : a noun meaning ‘daughter’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• kirei – 綺麗 (きれい) : the stem part of the na-adjective, “kireina“, which means ‘beautiful’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “kawaikute”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with “kirei”. When we want to use “kawaii” in front of another adjective like this, its te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.

Kawaikereba: the ba form of “kawaii”

Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “kawaikereba”.

• kawaikereba – 可愛ければ (かわいければ) : the ba form of “kawaii”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘cute’ or ‘pretty’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “kawaikereba” consists of the following two parts:

• kawaikere – 可愛けれ (かわいけれ) : one conjugation of “kawaii”. 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 “kawaikereba” is literally the ba form of “kawaii”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “kawaikereba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘cute’ or ‘pretty’. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to say “if cute” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• anata – あなた : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese.
• 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 “anata” to make the subject in the conditional clause.
• totemo – とても : an adverb of degree meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, ‘so’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this works before “kawaikereba” to emphasize its meaning.
• serebu – セレブ (せれぶ) : a noun meaning ‘celebrity’ in Japanese. This is an imported word.
• ni – に : a case particle used to say what someone or something becomes after a change or action. In the example, this is used after “serebu” to say what the listener can become.
• nareru – なれる : a potential verb meaning ‘can become’ or such in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “kawaikereba”. In the example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “anata ga totemo kawaikereba”, which means ‘if you are very cute’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘cute’ or ‘pretty’, this ba form is a good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “kawaii” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained its major conjugations with the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• kawaii – 可愛い (かわいい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘cute’ or ‘pretty’ in Japanese. This can work as both a modifier and a complement.
• kawaikunai – 可愛くない (かわいくない) : the nai form of “kawaii”, which means ‘not cute’ or ‘not pretty’ in Japanese.
• kawaikatta – 可愛かった (かわいかった) : the ta form of “kawaii”, which means ‘was cute’, ‘was pretty’, or such in Japanese.
• kawaikute – 可愛くて (かわいくて) : the te form of “kawaii”, which means ‘cute’ or ‘pretty’ in Japanese. When we want to use “kawaii” in front of another adjective or a verb, this te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
• kawaikereba – 可愛ければ (かわいければ) : the ba form of “kawaii”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘cute’ or ‘pretty’ in Japanese. When we want to say “if cute” or “if pretty” in Japanese, this ba form is a good option.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.