強い

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
強
つよ
Grade: 2
kun’yomi

May be a newer term than kowai below; now the more common term for strong. Found in texts from at least CE 859.[1]

Pronunciation

Adjective

強い (-i inflection, hiragana つよい, rōmaji tsuyoi)

  1. strong, durable, powerful
    • 2006 April 15, Anzai, Nobuyuki, “ＡＫＴアクト.139／　ウォーゲーム最さい終しゅう決けっ戦せん　アランＶＳバーサス.ハロウィン② [AKT.139/ War Games Final Battle: Alan VS. Halloween ②]”, in MÄRメル MÄRCHEN AWAKENS ROMANCE [MÄR: MÄRCHEN AWAKENS ROMANCE], volume 13 (fiction, in Japanese), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 153:
      弱 (よわ)い奴 (やつ)が強 (つよ)い奴 (やつ)の犠 (ぎ)牲 (せい)になるのは必 (ひつ)然 (ぜん)なんだ
      Yowai yatsu ga tsuyoi yatsu no gisei ni naru no wa hitsuzen nan da
      It’s inevitable that the weak become sacrifices for the strong
Inflection

Antonyms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
強
こわ
Grade: 2
kun’yomi

From Old Japanese.[1] Appears in the Nihon Shoki, c. CE 720.

Cognate with 怖い (kowai, “scary, frightening”), apparently from the sense of freezing from fright.[1][2] Likely also cognate with other terms beginning with ko- and related to senses of hard, stiff, such as 凝る (koru, “to stiffen”), 凍ゆ (koyu, “to freeze, to become frozen”, classical) → modern 凍える (kogoeru).

Pronunciation

Adjective

強い (-i inflection, hiragana こわい, rōmaji kowai, historical hiragana こはい)

  1. hard, tough, stiff
  2. stubborn
Inflection

References

  1. 1 2 3 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1 2 3 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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