Urusai is the Japanese adjective for ‘noisy’ or ‘loud’, explained

What does “urusai” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “urusai” to mean ‘noisy’ or ‘loud’ in Japanese. In this blog post, I will explain this word and its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. Let’s get started!

Contents

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

Definition and meanings of “urusai”

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

• urusai – 煩い (うるさい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘noisy’ or ‘loud’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, this can also mean ‘annoying’, ‘persistent’, ‘fussy’, or such.

Japanese native speakers describe something noisy or something loud with this i-adjective. It has the kanji expression, but they tend to write it in hiragana. So, Japanese learners can focus on its hiragana expression, I think.

Let me explain how to use this i-adjective through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “noisy” 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.
• kuruma – 車 (くるま) : a noun meaning ‘car’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “watashi no kuruma”, to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “urusai”. When we want to say “noisy” in Japanese, this i-adjective would be the best choice. In the example, it works as a complement. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier before a noun. So, we can say “watashi no urusai kuruma” to mean ‘my noisy car’ in Japanese. Its usages are very similar to those of “noisy” in English. It’s worth knowing.

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

Nai form of “urusai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “urusakunai”.

• urusakunai – 煩くない (うるさくない) : the nai form of “urusai”, meaning ‘not noisy’, ‘not loud’, or such in Japanese.

This nai form consists of the following two parts:

• urusaku – 煩く (うるさく) : one conjugation of “urusai”. This can have the better 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 “urusakunai” is literally the nai form of “urusai” and means ‘not noisy’, ‘not loud’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

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

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “urusakunai”. When we want to say “not noisy” in Japanese, this nai form is a good choice.

Ta form of “urusai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “urusakatta”.

• urusakatta – 煩かった (うるさかった) : the ta form of “urusai”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was noisy’, ‘were noisy’, or such in Japanese.

This ta form consists of the following two parts:

• urusakat – 煩かっ (うるさかっ) : one conjugation of “urusai”. This can have the better 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 “urusakatta” is literally the ta form of “urusai”. In Japanese, ta forms of verbs and adjectives can work as their past tense forms. So, we can say “urusakatta” to mean ‘was noisy’, ‘were noisy’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this ta form through the example sentence below.

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

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.

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

Te form of “urusai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “urusakute”.

• urusakute – 煩くて (うるさくて) : the te form of “urusai”, meaning ‘noisy’, ‘loud’, or such in Japanese.

This te form consists of the following two parts:

• urusaku – 煩く (うるさく) : one conjugation of “urusai”. This can have the better connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.

A te form of an adjective can have a smooth connection with another adjective or a verb. So, “urusakute” 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 “urusai” before another adjective

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

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

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

Ba form of “urusai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “urusakereba”.

• urusakereba – 煩ければ (うるさければ) : the ba form of “urusai”, used to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘noisy’, ‘loud’, or such in Japanese.

This ba form consists of the following two parts:

• urusakere – 煩けれ (うるさけれ) : one conjugation of “urusai”. This can have the better connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.

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

Example #5: how to use “urusakereba”

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 “kuruma” to say “this car” 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 “kono kuruma” to make the subject in the conditional clause.
• ano – あの : a determiner used before a noun referring to a thing not close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “kuruma” to say “that car” in Japanese.
• tsukat – 使っ (つかっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “tsukau”, which means ‘to use’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for a better connection with its following word.
• te – て : the same as used in “urusakute”. In this example, this is used after “tsukat” to make its te form, “tsukat te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “kudasai”.
• kudasai – ください : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make its command form with adding the meaning of ‘please’. In the example, this is used after the te-formed verb, “tsukat te”, to make its command form with adding the meaning of ‘please’.

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

Summary

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

• urusai – 煩い (うるさい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘noisy’ or ‘loud’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, this can also mean ‘annoying’, ‘persistent’, ‘fussy’, or such. This can work as both a modifier and a complement.
• urusakunai – 煩くない (うるさくない) : the nai form of “urusai”, meaning ‘not noisy’, ‘not loud’, or such in Japanese.
• urusakatta – 煩かった (うるさかった) : the ta form of “urusai”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was noisy’, ‘were noisy’, or such in Japanese.
• urusakute – 煩くて (うるさくて) : the te form of “urusai”, meaning ‘noisy’, ‘loud’, or such in Japanese. When we want to use “urusai” before another adjective, this form is useful.
• urusakereba – 煩ければ (うるさければ) : the ba form of “urusai”, used to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘noisy’, ‘loud’, or such in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.