Atatakai is the Japanese word for ‘warm’, explained

What does “atatakai” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “atatakai” normally to mean ‘warm’ in Japanese. Probably, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. 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 “atatakai” more properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “atatakai”
  • Example #1: how to say “warm” in Japanese
• Atatakakunai: the nai form of “atatakai”
  • Example #2: how to say “not warm” in Japanese
• Atatakakatta: the ta form of “atatakai”
  • Example #3: how to say “was warm” in Japanese
• Atatakakute: the te form of “atatakai”
  • Example #4: how to say “warm and” in Japanese
• Atatakakereba: the ba form of “atatakai”
  • Example #5: how to say “if warm” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “atatakai”

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

• atatakai – 暖かい/温かい (あたたかい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘warm’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, this can also mean ‘hot’, ‘kind’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese.

“Atatakai” has two different kanji expressions. The first one describes weather conditions; the second one is suitable for the other things. When the second one is used for people, it describes their personalities.

It’s also worth mentioning here that native speakers often say “attakai” instead especially in daily conversations. It is the colloquial version of “atatakai”.

The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. Then, let me explain how to use “atatakai” through the example sentence below.

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kyou” to make the subject in the sentence.
• totemo – とても : an adverb of degree meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, ‘so’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this works before “atatakai” to emphasize its meaning.
• 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 “atatakai” to make it sound polite.
• ne – ね : a sentence-ending particle used to ask for agreement in a soft way. As the definition suggests, this is used at the end of the example sentence to say “isn’t it?” in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “atatakai”. In the example, it works as a complement. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier in front of a noun. It’s worth knowing, I think. When we want to say “warm” in Japanese, anyway, “atatakai” is a very good option.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “atatakai” 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 “atatakakunai”.

Atatakakunai: the nai form of “atatakai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “atatakakunai”.

• atatakakunai – 暖かくない/温かくない (あたたかくない) : the nai form of “atatakai”, which means ‘not warm’, ‘not hot’, ‘not kind’, or ‘not tender’ in Japanese.

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

• atatakaku – 暖かく/温かく (あたたかく) : one conjugation of “atatakai”. 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 “atatakakunai” is literally the nai form of “atatakai” and means ‘not warm’, ‘not hot’, ‘not kind’, or ‘not tender’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this nai form through the example sentence below.

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

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• soto – 外 (そと) : a noun meaning ‘outside’ in Japanese. This can also work like an adverb.

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

Atatakakatta: the ta form of “atatakai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “atatakakatta”.

• atatakakatta – 暖かかった/温かかった (あたたかかった) : the ta form of “atatakai”, which means ‘was warm’, ‘was hot’, ‘was kind’, ‘was tender’, or such in Japanese.

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

• atatakakat – 暖かかっ/温かかっ (あたたかかっ) : one conjugation of “atatakai”. 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 “atatakakatta” is literally the ta form of “atatakai” and means ‘was warm’, ‘was hot’, ‘was kind’, ‘was tender’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this ta form through the example sentence below.

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

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• kinou – 昨日 (きのう) : a noun meaning ‘yesterday’ in Japanese.

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

Atatakakute: the te form of “atatakai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “atatakakute”.

• atatakakute – 暖かくて/温かくて (あたたかくて) : the te form of “atatakai”, which means ‘warm’, ‘hot’, ‘kind’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese.

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

• atatakaku – 暖かく/温かく (あたたかく) : one conjugation of “atatakai”. 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 “atatakakute” is literally the te form of “atatakai”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “atatakakute” is very useful when we want to use “atatakai” in front of another adjective or a verb. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to say “warm and” 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.
• kareshi – 彼氏 (かれし) : a noun meaning ‘boyfriend’ in Japanese.
• yasashii – 優しい (やさしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘kind’ in Japanese.

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

Atatakakereba: the ba form of “atatakai”

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

• atatakakereba – 暖かければ/温かければ (あたたかければ) : the ba form of “atatakai”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘warm’, ‘hot’, ‘kind’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese.

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

• atatakakere – 暖かけれ/温かけれ (あたたかけれ) : one conjugation of “atatakai”. 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 “atatakakereba” is literally the ba form of “atatakai”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “atatakakereba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘warm’, ‘hot’, ‘kind’, or ‘tender’. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• ashita – 明日 (あした) : a noun meaning ‘tomorrow’ in Japanese.
• umi – 海 (うみ) : a noun meaning ‘sea’ or ‘ocean’ in Japanese.
• ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “umi” to say where the speaker will go.
• iki – 行き (いき) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku“, which means ‘to go’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form. In the example, this is used after “iki” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “atatakakereba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “ashita atatakakereba”, which means ‘if it’s warm tomorrow’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘warm’, this ba form is useful.

Summary

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

• atatakai – 暖かい/温かい (あたたかい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘warm’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, this can also mean ‘hot’, ‘kind’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese. This can work as both a modifier and a complement.
• atatakakunai – 暖かくない/温かくない (あたたかくない) : the nai form of “atatakai”, which means ‘not warm’, ‘not hot’, ‘not kind’, or ‘not tender’ in Japanese.
• atatakakatta – 暖かかった/温かかった (あたたかかった) : the ta form of “atatakai”, which means ‘was warm’, ‘was hot’, ‘was kind’, ‘was tender’, or such in Japanese.
• atatakakute – 暖かくて/温かくて (あたたかくて) : the te form of “atatakai”, which means ‘warm’, ‘hot’, ‘kind’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese. When we want to use “atatakai” in front of another adjective, this te form is useful to make a smooth connection.
• atatakakereba – 暖かければ/温かければ (あたたかければ) : the ba form of “atatakai”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘warm’, ‘hot’, ‘kind’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.