Regret in Japanese: koukai, explained based on its kanji expression

How to say “regret” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “koukai”. It is the Japanese word for ‘regret’. 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. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “koukai”
• “Koukai” in kanji
• Example #1: how to say “regret” in Japanese
• Example #2: how to say “to regret” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “koukai”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “koukai”.

• koukai – 後悔 (こうかい) : a noun meaning ‘regret’ in Japanese.

The definition and meaning are simple and clear. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

“Koukai” in kanji

Below are the kanji characters used in “koukai”.

• 後 : a kanji character used to mean ‘after’, ‘later’, ‘late’, or such in Japanese.
• 悔 : a kanji character used to express the feeling of sorry or regret.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that the concept of “koukai” is ‘late to feel sorry’. This is not completely in line with the meaning, but still close, I think.

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 “koukai” through the detailed kanji check above.

Then, let me explain how to use “koukai” through the example sentences below.

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

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, it is used after “watashi” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• no – の : a case particle used to limit the meaning of its following word with the meaning of its preceding word based on relations like possessing and belonging. In the example, it is used to limit the meaning of “omoi” with the meaning of “koukai”. The formed phrase, “koukai no omoi”, has been translated as “a feeling of regret”. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of “no” is similar to that of “of”.
• omoi – 思い (おもい) : a noun meaning ‘feeling’, ‘thought’, or such in Japanese.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is used after the noun phrase, “koukai no omoi”, to make the object in the sentence.
• mot – 持っ (もっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “motsu”, which means ‘to have’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb or adjective to make its te form. In the example, it is used after the conjugated verb, “mot”, to make its te form, “mot te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “iru”.
• iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by its preceding verb. In the example, it is used after the te-formed verb, “mot te”, to express the continuity of that action, ‘to have’.

This is a typical usage of “koukai”. In this example, it is used as a part of the phrase, “koukai no omoi”, which means ‘a feeling of regret’. When we want to say “regret” in Japanese, it would be the best choice.

Example #2: how to say “to regret” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• mou – もう : an adverb meaning ‘any longer’, ‘any more’, or such in Japanese.
• koukai shi – 後悔し (こうかいし) : one conjugation of the verb, “koukai suru”, which means ‘to regret’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• taku – たく : one conjugation of the auxiliary verb, “tai”, which is used after a verb to make its desire form.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb or adjective to deny its meaning. In the example, it is used after the noun phrase, “koukai shi taku”, to deny its meaning.

This is another typical usage of “koukai”. In this example, it is used as a part of the conjugation of the verb form, “koukai suru”. When we want to say “to regret” in Japanese, this verb form would be the best choice.

“Suru” is normally used as a verb to mean ‘to do’ in Japanese. When it is used after a noun, however, it can work to make the verb form of the preceding noun. In this case, therefore, it works to make the verb form of “koukai”. In the Japanese language, many nouns can be changed to their verb forms with the help of “suru”. It’s worth knowing, I think.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “koukai” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• koukai – 後悔 (こうかい) : a noun meaning ‘regret’ in Japanese. The concept of these two kanji characters is ‘late to feel sorry’. This seems to be close to the meaning.
• koukai suru – 後悔する (こうかいする) : a verb meaning ‘to regret’ in Japanese. This can be considered as the verb form of “koukai”.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.