Kowai can mean ‘scary’ or ‘scared’ in Japanese, explained

What does “kowai” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “kowai” to mean ‘scary’ or ‘scared’ 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 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 “kowai” more properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “kowai”
  • Example #1: how to say “scary” in Japanese
• Kowakunai: the nai form of “kowai”
  • Example #2: how to say “not scary” in Japanese
• Kowakatta: the ta form of “kowai”
  • Example #3: how to say “was scary” in Japanese
• Kowakute: the te form of “kowai”
  • Example #4: how to say “scary and” in Japanese
• Kowakereba: the ba form of “kowai”
  • Example #5: how to say “if scared” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “kowai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kowai”.

• kowai – 怖い/恐い (こわい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘scary’ or ‘scared’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, this can also mean ‘frightening’ or ‘fearful’.

Native speakers say “kowai” normally to mean ‘scary’ or ‘scared’ in Japanese. In English, we need to be careful with the subject word in a sentence. When the subject is scary, we need to say “scary”. When the subject is scared by someone or something, we need to say “scared”. In Japanese, however, this i-adjective does not care whether the subject is scary or scared. We can just say “kowai” in both cases.

“Kowai” has two different kanji expressions, but both have the same meanings. The first one is just more commonly used.

Then, let me explain how to use “kowai” through the example sentence below.

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ 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 “kanojo” to make its possessive case, “kanojo no”, which means ‘her’ in Japanese.
• kao – 顔 (かお) : a noun meaning ‘face’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. 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 “kanojo no kao” to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “kowai”. In this 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 “kanojo no kowai kao” to mean ‘her scary face’ in Japanese. So, its usages are very similar to those of the English adjective, “scary”, I think. Anyway, when we want to say “scary” in Japanese, “kowai” is a very good option.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “kowai” 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 “kowakunai”.

Kowakunai: the nai form of “kowai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kowakunai”.

• kowakunai – 怖くない/恐くない (こわくない) : the nai form of “kowai”, which means ‘not scary’, ‘not scared’, ‘not frightening’, or ‘not fearful’.

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

• kowaku – 怖く/恐く (こわく) : one conjugation of “kowai”. 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 very similar to that of “not”.

From these two parts, we can understand that “kowakunai” is literally the nai form of “kowai” and means ‘not scary’, ‘not scared’, ‘not frightening’, or ‘not fearful’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this nai form through the example sentence below.

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males. In the example, this works together with “no” to say “my” in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku no kao” to make the subject in the sentence.
• yo – よ : a sentence-ending particle used to state the fact or idea in a soft way. As the definition suggests, this is used at the end of the example sentence to state the speaker’s idea softly.

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

Kowakatta: the ta form of “kowai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kowakatta”.

• kowakatta – 怖かった/恐かった (こわかった) : the ta form of “kowai”, which means ‘was scary’, ‘was scared’, ‘was frightening’, ‘was fearful’, or such in Japanese.

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

• kowakat – 怖かっ/恐かっ (こわかっ) : one conjugation of “kowai”. 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 “kowakatta” is literally the ta form of “kowai” and means ‘was scary’, ‘was scared’, ‘was frightening’, ‘was fearful’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this ta form through the example sentence below.

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

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• totemo – とても : an adverb of degree meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, ‘so’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this works before “kowakatta” to emphasize its meaning.

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

Kowakute: the te form of “kowai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kowakute”.

• kowakute – 怖くて/恐くて (こわくて) : the te form of “kowai”, which means ‘scary’, ‘scared’, ‘frightening’, or ‘fearful’ in Japanese.

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

• kowaku – 怖く/恐く (こわく) : one conjugation of “kowai”. 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 “kowakute” is literally the te form of “kowai”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “kowakute” is very useful when we want to use “kowai” in front of another adjective or a verb. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

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

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 “shashin” to say “this photo” in Japanese.
• shashin – 写真 (しゃしん) : a noun meaning ‘photo’ or such in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• osoroshii – 恐ろしい (おそろしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘horrific’ or such in Japanese.

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

Kowakereba: the ba form of “kowai”

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

• kowakereba – 怖ければ/恐ければ (こわければ) : the ba form of “kowai”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘scary’, ‘scared’, ‘frightening’, or ‘fearful’ in Japanese.

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

• kowakere – 怖けれ/恐けれ (こわけれ) : one conjugation of “kowai”. 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 “kowakereba” is literally the ba form of “kowai”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “kowakereba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘scary’, ‘scared’, ‘frightening’, or ‘fearful’ in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kimi – 君 (きみ) : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese.
• eiga – 映画 (えいが) : a noun meaning ‘movie’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• yame – 止め (やめ) : one conjugation of the verb, “yameru”, which means ‘to stop’ or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• you – よう : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make its volitional form. In the example, this is used after “yame” to make its volitional form, “yame you”, which means ‘let’s stop’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “kowakereba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “kimi ga kowakereba”, which means ‘if you are scared’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘scary’ or such in Japanese, this ba form is very useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “kowai” and its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• kowai – 怖い/恐い (こわい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘scary’ or ‘scared’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, this can also mean ‘frightening’ or ‘fearful’. The first kanji expression is more commonly used. This i-adjective can work as both a modifier and a complement.
• kowakunai – 怖くない/恐くない (こわくない) : the nai form of “kowai”, which means ‘not scary’, ‘not scared’, ‘not frightening’, or ‘not fearful’.
• kowakatta – 怖かった/恐かった (こわかった) : the ta form of “kowai”, which means ‘was scary’, ‘was scared’, ‘was frightening’, ‘was fearful’, or such in Japanese.
• kowakute – 怖くて/恐くて (こわくて) : the te form of “kowai”, which means ‘scary’, ‘scared’, ‘frightening’, or ‘fearful’ in Japanese. When we want to use “kowai” in front of another adjective, this te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
• kowakereba – 怖ければ/恐ければ (こわければ) : the ba form of “kowai”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘scary’, ‘scared’, ‘frightening’, or ‘fearful’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.