小さい

Japanese

Kanji in this term
小
ちい Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Etymology

*/tipisasi/ → /tiɸisasi/ → /t͡ɕiwisaɕi/ → /t͡ɕiːsaɕi/ → /t͡ɕiːsai/

Ultimate derivation uncertain.

The initial chi element appears in other words with similar meanings of small, such as ちょっと (chotto, “a little bit”, adverb), from ちっと (chitto), emphatic geminate derived from even earlier ちと (chito), in which と (to) marks an adverb.

Possibly related to ちび (chibi, “small and round”, often with overtones of cuteness), itself apparently derived from 粒(つぶ) (tsubu, “small round thing”, such as a grain of rice).^[1]

First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720, albeit in the ideographic spelling 細.^[2] First attested unambiguously in the late 800s, early 900s in the attributive inflection with the phonetic spelling 知比佐伊 (tifisai).^[2]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ちいさい [chìísáꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])^[3]^[4]
IPA^(key): [t͡ɕiːsa̠i]

Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 小さい

Plain	小さい	ちいさい	`[chìísáꜜì]`
Conjunctive	小さくて	ちいさくてちいさくて	`[chìísáꜜkùtè]` `[chíꜜìsàkùtè]`
Continuative	小さく	ちいさくちいさく	`[chìísáꜜkù]` `[chíꜜìsàkù]`
Negative	小さくない	ちいさく・ないちいさく・ない	`[chìísáꜜkù náꜜì]` `[chíꜜìsàkù náꜜì]`
Past	小さかった	ちいさかったちいさかった	`[chìísáꜜkàttà]` `[chíꜜìsàkàttà]`
Negative past	小さくなかった	ちいさく・なかったちいさく・なかった	`[chìísáꜜkù náꜜkàttà]` `[chíꜜìsàkù náꜜkàttà]`
Conditional	小さければ	ちいさければちいさければ	`[chìísáꜜkèrèbà]` `[chíꜜìsàkèrèbà]`
Terminal	小さい	ちいさい	`[chìísáꜜì]`
Formal	小さいです	ちいさいです	`[chìísáꜜì dèsù]`

Adjective

小(ちい)さい • (chīsai) ^{←ちひさい (tifisai)^?}-i (adverbial 小(ちい)さく (chīsaku))

(of size or amount) small, little, tiny
小(ちい)さい本(ほん)屋(や) ― chīsai hon'ya ― a small bookstore
- 1906, Natsume Sōseki, Botchan‎^[2]:
  ^text
  教(きょう)師(し)は二(ふた)人(り)だ。大(おお)きい奴(やつ)と、小(ちい)さい奴(やつ)だ。
  Kyōshi wa futari da. Ōkii yatsu to, chīsai yatsu da.
  There were two teachers. A big one, and a little one.
(of age) young, little
小(ちい)さい時(とき)からの友(ゆう)人(じん)
chīsai toki kara no yūjin
friend from when I was little
(of extent, scale or importance) small, minor
小(ちい)さい被(ひ)害(がい)で済(す)む
chīsai higai de sumu
to end up with minor damage
(of sound) quiet
小(ちい)さい声(こえ) ― chīsai koe ― a quiet voice

Usage notes

As an adjective modifying a noun attributively, interchangeable with 小(ちい)さな (chīsana). In all other uses, only this form, 小(ちい)さい (chīsai) (and its inflections), may be used. See 大(おお)きい (ōkii) and 可笑(おか)しい (okashii), which have the same rules of use.

Inflection

Inflection of **小さい**
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	小さかろ	ちいさかろ	chīsakaro
Continuative (連用形)	小さく	ちいさく	chīsaku
Terminal (終止形)	小さい	ちいさい	chīsai
Attributive (連体形)	小さい	ちいさい	chīsai
Hypothetical (仮定形)	小さけれ	ちいさけれ	chīsakere
Imperative (命令形)	小さかれ	ちいさかれ	chīsakare
Key constructions
Informal negative	小さくない	ちいさくない	chīsaku nai
Informal past	小さかった	ちいさかった	chīsakatta
Informal negative past	小さくなかった	ちいさくなかった	chīsaku nakatta
Formal	小さいです	ちいさいです	chīsai desu
Formal negative	小さくないです	ちいさくないです	chīsaku nai desu
Formal past	小さかったです	ちいさかったです	chīsakatta desu
Formal negative past	小さくなかったです	ちいさくなかったです	chīsaku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	小さくて	ちいさくて	chīsakute
Conditional	小さければ	ちいさければ	chīsakereba
Provisional	小さかったら	ちいさかったら	chīsakattara
Volitional	小さかろう	ちいさかろう	chīsakarō
Adverbial	小さく	ちいさく	chīsaku
Degree	小ささ	ちいささ	chīsasa

Antonyms

大(おお)きい (ōkii)

Derived terms

小(ち)っちゃい (chitchai)

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 “小さい”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

“小さい”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[3] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

[KDJ-1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[NKDc-2] 2.0 ^2.1 “小さい”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[NHK-3] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[DJR-4] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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