Ureshii is the Japanese adjective for ‘happy’, ‘glad’, or ‘pleased’

What does “ureshii” mean in Japanese?

Japanese people say “ureshii” to mean ‘happy’, ‘glad’, or ‘pleased’ 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 “ureshii” properly. Then, let’s get started!

• Definition and meanings of “ureshii”
  • Example #1: how to say “I’m happy” in Japanese
• Nai form of “ureshii”
  • Example #2: how to say “not happy” in Japanese
• Ta form of “ureshii”
  • Example #3: how to say “was happy” in Japanese
• Te form of “ureshii”
  • Example #4: how to say “happy and” in Japanese
• Ba form of “ureshii”
  • Example #5: how to say “if happy” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “ureshii”

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

• ureshii – 嬉しい (うれしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘happy’, ‘glad’, or ‘pleased’ in Japanese.

Japanese people use this i-adjective to express their feelings of pleasure. So, it can work in very similar ways that the English adjectives do. Let me explain how to use it in more detail through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “I’m happy” 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, this is used after “watashi” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• totemo – とても : an adverb of degree, meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, ‘so’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this is used to emphasize the meaning of “ureshii”.
• 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 “ureshii” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “ureshii”. In this example, it works together with the adverb, “totemo”. The formed phrase literally means ‘very happy’ in Japanese. Native speakers often use this phrase, so it’s worth knowing.

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

Nai form of “ureshii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “ureshikunai”.

• ureshikunai – 嬉しくない (うれしくない) : the nai form of “ureshii”, meaning ‘not happy’, ‘not glad’, or ‘not pleased’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, this nai form consists of the following two parts:

• ureshiku – 嬉しく (うれしく) : one conjugation of “ureshii”. 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 “ureshikunai” is literally the nai form of “ureshii” and means ‘not happy’, ‘not glad’, or ‘not pleased’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this nai form through the example sentence below.

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this is used after “ureshikunai” to indicate a quote.
• it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu”, which means ‘to say’, ‘to tell’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ta form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its ta form, “it ta”, which means ‘to have said’ in Japanese.

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

Ta form of “ureshii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “ureshikatta”.

• ureshikatta – 嬉しかった (うれしかった) : the ta form of “ureshii”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was happy’, ‘were happy’, or such in Japanese.

This ta form consists of the following two parts:

• ureshikat – 嬉しかっ (うれしかっ) : one conjugation of “ureshii”. 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 “ureshikatta” is literally the ta form of “ureshii”. In Japanese, ta forms of words can work as their past tense forms. So, we can use “ureshikatta” to mean ‘was happy’, ‘were happy’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this ta form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “was happy” 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.
• mo – も : a binding particle working as a case marker with adding the meaning of ‘too’, ‘also’, or ‘as well’. In the example, this follows “kanojo” to make the subject word in the sentence with adding the meaning of ‘too’.

This is a typical usage of “ureshikatta”. When we want to say “was happy” in Japanese, this ta form is a very good choice.

Te form of “ureshii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “ureshikute”.

• ureshikute – 嬉しくて (うれしくて) : the te form of “ureshii”, meaning ‘happy’, ‘glad’, or ‘pleased’ in Japanese.

This te form consists of the following two parts:

• ureshiku – 嬉しく (うれしく) : one conjugation of “ureshii”. 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 “ureshikute” is literally the te form of “ureshii”. In Japanese, te forms of words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. Actually, “ureshikute” is very useful when we want to use “ureshii” 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 “happy and” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• hazukashii – 恥ずかしい (はずかしい) : an i-adjective meaning ’embarrassed’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “ureshikute”. In this example, it has the smooth connection with “hazukashii”. When we want to use “ureshii” before another adjective or a verb with a smooth connection, this te form is very useful.

Ba form of “ureshii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “ureshikereba”.

• ureshikereba – 嬉しければ (うれしければ) : the ba form of “ureshii”, used to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘happy’, ‘glad’, or ‘pleased’.

This ba form consists of the following two parts:

• ureshikere – 嬉しけれ (うれしけれ) : one conjugation of “ureshii”. 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 “ureshikereba” is literally the ba form of “ureshii”. In Japanese, ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “ureshikereba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘happy’, ‘glad’, or ‘pleased’. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kimochi – 気持ち (きもち) : a noun meaning ‘feeling’ in Japanese.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kimochi” to make the object word in the second clause.
• hyougen shi – 表現し (ひょうげんし) : one conjugation of the verb, “hyougen suru”, which means ‘to express’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : the same as used in “ureshikute”. In this example, this is used after “hyougen shi” to make its te form, “hyougen shi te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “kudasai”.
• kudasai – ください : the command form of “kudasaru” which means ‘to give’ in Japanese. When this follows a te-formed verb, however, it can work to add the meaning of ‘please’ to the preceding verb. In the example, this follows “hyougen shi te” to add the meaning of ‘please’.

This is a typical usage of “ureshikereba”. In this example, it works as a conditional clause which means ‘if you feel happy’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘happy’, ‘glad’, or ‘pleased’ in Japanese, this ba forms is very useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the i-adjective, “ureshii”, and its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• ureshii – 嬉しい (うれしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘happy’, ‘glad’, or ‘pleased’ in Japanese.
• ureshikunai – 嬉しくない (うれしくない) : the nai form of “ureshii”, meaning ‘not happy’, ‘not glad’, or ‘not pleased’ in Japanese.
• ureshikatta – 嬉しかった (うれしかった) : the ta form of “ureshii”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was happy’, ‘were happy’, or such in Japanese.
• ureshikute – 嬉しくて (うれしくて) : the te form of “ureshii”, meaning ‘happy’, ‘glad’, or ‘pleased’ in Japanese. When we want to use “ureshii” before another adjective or a verb with a smooth connection, this te form is useful.
• ureshikereba – 嬉しければ (うれしければ) : the ba form of “ureshii”, used to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘happy’, ‘glad’, or ‘pleased’.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.