Slow in Japanese: osoi, explained with its major conjugations

How to say “slow” in Japanese

There are multiple ways to say “slow” in Japanese. In this blog post, however, I will focus on one of the most widely-used ones: “osoi”. I will explain this word and its major conjugations with example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to say “slow” properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “osoi”
  • Example #1: how to say “slow” in Japanese
• Nai form of “osoi”
  • Example #2: how to say “not slow” in Japanese
• Ta form of “osoi”
  • Example #3: how to use the past tense form of “osoi”
• Te form of “osoi”
  • Example #4: how to use “osoi” before another adjective
• Ba form of “osoi”
  • Example #5: how to use “osokereba”
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “osoi”

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

• osoi – 遅い (おそい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘slow’ or ‘late’ in Japanese.

Japanese native speakers use this adjective to mean ‘slow in speed’ or ‘late in time’ in Japanese. So, it can cover the two English adjectives: “slow” and “late”. It’s worth knowing. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• ano – あの : a determiner used before a noun which refers to a thing not close to the speaker. In the example, it is used before “kuruma” to say “that car” in Japanese.
• kuruma – 車 (くるま) : a noun meaning ‘car’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “ano kuruma”, to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “osoi”. In this example, it works as a complement. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier before a noun. So, for example, we can say “ano osoi kuruma” to mean ‘that slow car’ in Japanese. Anyway, when we want to say “slow” in Japanese, this i-adjective would be the best choice.

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

Nai form of “osoi”

Below are the definition and meanings of “osokunai”.

• osokunai – 遅くない (おそくない) : the nai form of “osoi”, meaning ‘not slow’ or ‘not late’ in Japanese.

Grammatically this nai form can be broken down into the following two parts:

• osoku – 遅く (おそく) : one conjugation of “osoi”. This can have the better connection with “nai”.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb or adjective 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 “osokunai” is literally the nai form of “osoi” and means ‘not slow’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

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

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• kono – この : a determiner used before a noun which refers to a thing close to the speaker. In the example, it is used before “kuruma” to say “this car” in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “osokunai”. When we want to say “not slow” in Japanese, this nai form would be a good choice.

Ta form of “osoi”

Below are the definition and meanings of “osokatta”.

• osokatta – 遅かった (おそかった) : the ta form of “osoi”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was slow’, ‘were slow’, ‘was late’, or ‘were late’ in Japanese.

Grammatically this ta form can be broken down into the following two parts:

• osokat – 遅かっ (おそかっ) : one conjugation of “osoi”. This can have the better connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb or adjective to make its ta form.

From these two components, we can understand that “osokatta” is literally the ta form of “osoi”. In Japanese, ta forms of verbs and adjectives can work as their past tense forms. So, we can say “osokatta” to mean ‘was slow’, ‘were slow’, ‘was late’, or ‘were late’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it though the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to use the past tense form of “osoi”

This is a typical usage of “osokatta”. When we want to say “was slow” in Japanese, this ta form would be a good choice.

Te form of “osoi”

Below are the definition and meanings of “osokute”.

• osokute – 遅くて (おそくて) : the te form of “osoi”, meaning ‘slow’ or ‘late’ in Japanese.

Grammatically this te form can be broken down into the following two parts:

• osoku – 遅く (おそく) : one conjugation of “osoi”. This can have the better connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb or adjective to make its te form.

A te form of an adjective can have a smooth connection with another adjective or a verb. So, “osokute” is very useful when we want to use adjectives in a row. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to use “osoi” before another adjective

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• urusai – うるさい : an i-adjective meaning ‘noisy’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “osokute”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with the i-adjective, “urusai”. When we want to use “osoi” before another adjective or a verb, its te form is useful.

Ba form of “osoi”

Below are the definition and meanings of “osokereba”.

• osokereba – 遅ければ (おそければ) : the ba form of “osoi”, used to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘slow’ or ‘late’ in Japanese.

Grammatically this ba form can be broken down into the following two parts:

• osokere – 遅けれ (おそけれ) : one conjugation of “osoi”. This can have the better connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb or adjective to make its ba form.

In Japanese, ba forms of verbs and adjectives can work as their conditional forms. So, “osokereba” can work to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘slow’ or ‘late’. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to use “osokereba”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• ga -が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is used after “kuruma” to make the subject word in the conditional clause.
• oshie – 教え (おしえ) : one conjugation of the verb, “oshieru”, which means ‘to tell’, ‘to inform’, ‘to teach’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : the same as used in “osokute”. In this example, this is used after “oshie” to make its te form, “oshie te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “kudasai”.
• kudasai – 下さい (ください) : the command form of the verb, “kudasaru”, which means ‘to give’ in Japanese. This can also work as an auxiliary verb after a te-formed verb to add the meaning of ‘please’ to it. In this example, this works as an auxiliary verb.

This is a typical usage of “osokereba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause which means ‘if the car is slow’. When we want to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘slow’ in Japanese, this ba form is useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the i-adjective, “osoi”, and its major conjugations with the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• osoi – 遅い (おそい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘slow’ or ‘late’ in Japanese. This can work as both a modifier and a complement.
• osokunai – 遅くない (おそくない) : the nai form of “osoi”, meaning ‘not slow’ or ‘not late’ in Japanese.
• osokatta – 遅かった (おそかった) : the ta form of “osoi”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was slow’, ‘were slow’, ‘was late’, or ‘were late’ in Japanese.
• osokute – 遅くて (おそくて) : the te form of “osoi”, meaning ‘slow’ or ‘late’ in Japanese. This can have a smooth connection with another adjective or a verb. When we want to use adjectives in a row, this is useful.
• osokereba – 遅ければ (おそければ) : the ba form of “osoi”, used to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘slow’ or ‘late’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.