Warm in Japanese: atatakai, explained with its major conjugations

How to say “warm” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “atatakai”. It is the Japanese word for ‘warm’. 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 “atatakai”
  • Example #1: how to say “warm” in Japanese
• Nai form of “atatakai”
  • Example #2: how to say “not warm” in Japanese
• Ta form of “atatakai”
  • Example #3: how to use the past tense form of “atatakai”
• Te form of “atatakai”
  • Example #4: how to use “atatakai” before another adjective
• Ba form of “atatakai”
  • Example #5: how to use “atatakakereba”
• 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’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese.

“Atatakai” has the two different kanji expressions. The first one is used mainly to describe the weather conditions; the second one is used in more general situations. More often, therefore, Japanese native speakers use the second one.

Native speakers often say “attakai” especially in speaking. It is the colloquial version of “atatakai”. It sounds natural in daily conversations, but in more formal situations we should stick to the original pronunciation.

The definition and meanings of “atatakai” are simple and clear, I think. Then, let me explain how to use it 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 is used after “kyou” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• totemo – とても : an adverb of degree, meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, ‘pretty’, ‘quite’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this is used 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 make listener’s agreement in a soft way. In the example, this has been translated as “isn’t it?”

This is a typical usage of “atatakai”. In the example, it works as a complement to say “it’s very warm today” in Japanese. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier before a noun. It’s worth knowing.

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

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”, meaning ‘not warm’, ‘not hot’, ‘not kind’, ‘not tender’, or such in Japanese.

This nai form 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 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 “atatakakunai” is literally the nai form of “atatakai” and means ‘not warm’, ‘not hot’, ‘not kind’, ‘not tender’, or such 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 ‘the outside’. 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 would be a very good choice.

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”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was warm’, ‘were warm’, or such in Japanese.

This ta form 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 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 “atatakakatta” is literally the ta form of “atatakai”. In Japanese, ta forms of verbs and adjectives can work as their past tense forms. So, we can say “atatakakatta” to mean ‘was warm’, ‘were warm’, 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 “atatakai”

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 say “was warm” in Japanese, this ta form would be a very good choice.

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”, meaning ‘warm’, ‘hot’, ‘kind’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese.

This te form 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 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, “atatakakute” is very useful when we want to use adjectives in a row. Let me explain how to use it through the example below.

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ 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” before another adjective or a verb, its te form is useful.

Ba form of “atatakai”

Below are 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”, used to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘warm’, ‘hot’, ‘kind’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese.

This ba form 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 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 “atatakakereba” to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘warm’, ‘hot’, ‘kind’, ‘tender’, or such. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to use “atatakakereba”

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’ in Japanese.
• ni – に : a case particle used to indicate a place to which someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “umi” to say where “I” 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 which means ‘if it’s warm tomorrow’. When we want to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘warm’ in Japanese, this ba form is useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the i-adjective, “atatakai”, and its major conjugations. And 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’, ‘tender’, or such 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”, meaning ‘not warm’, ‘not hot’, ‘not kind’, ‘not tender’, or such 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”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was warm’, ‘were warm’, or such in Japanese.
• atatakakute – 暖かくて/温かくて (あたたかくて) : the te form of “atatakai”, meaning ‘warm’, ‘hot’, ‘kind’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese. This can have a smooth connection with another adjective or a verb. When we want to use “atatakai” before another adjective, this is useful.
• atatakakereba – 暖かければ/温かければ (あたたかければ) : the ba form of “atatakai”, used to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘warm’, ‘hot’, ‘kind’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese.

Hope my explanations would be understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.