短い

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
短
みじか Grade: 3
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
短かい (less common, possibly proscribed)

⟨mi₁zikasi⟩ → /mizikasi/ → /mid͡ʑikaɕi/ → /mid͡ʑikaki/ → /mid͡ʑikai/

From Old Japanese. First attested in c. 759 CE, in the Man'yōshū.

Appears to be derived as a compound, but the constituent parts remain obscure. The stem みじか (mijika) is also found in compounds, and in the now-obsolete adjective forms 短(みじか)やか (mijikayaka) and 短(みじか)らか (mijikaraka), indicating that the か (ka) is not the adjectivizing suffix か (-ka) (as in 静(しず)か (shizuka)), but rather part of the root.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mʲiʑika̠i]
• (Tokyo) みじかい [mìjíkáꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])

• Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 短い

Plain	短い	みじかい	[mìjíkáꜜì]
Conjunctive	短くて	みじかくて みじかくて	[mìjíkáꜜkùtè] [mìjíꜜkàkùtè]
Continuative	短く	みじかく みじかく	[mìjíkáꜜkù] [mìjíꜜkàkù]
Negative	短くない	みじかく・ない みじかく・ない	[mìjíkáꜜkù náꜜì] [mìjíꜜkàkù náꜜì]
Past	短かった	みじかかった みじかかった	[mìjíkáꜜkàttà] [mìjíꜜkàkàttà]
Negative past	短くなかった	みじかく・なかった みじかく・なかった	[mìjíkáꜜkù náꜜkàttà] [mìjíꜜkàkù náꜜkàttà]
Conditional	短ければ	みじかければ みじかければ	[mìjíkáꜜkèrèbà] [mìjíꜜkàkèrèbà]
Terminal	短い	みじかい	[mìjíkáꜜì]
Formal	短いです	みじかいです	[mìjíkáꜜì dèsù]

Adjective

短(みじか)い • (mijikai) -i (adverbial 短(みじか)く (mijikaku))

1. short, brief (in time) [from 759 CE]

   Synonym: (Kagoshima) みひけ (mihike)

   Antonym: 長い (nagai, “long”)

2. short (in space, from one point to another) [from 974 CE]

   Antonym: 長い (nagai, “long”)

3. short, brief (in length, such as a text or speech) [date uncertain]

   Antonym: 長い (nagai, “long”)

4. (archaic) short (in height) [mid 900s–late 1500s]

   Mostly superseded in modern usage by 低(ひく)い (hikui, “short (in height)”).

5. common, not part of the aristocracy [from 858 CE]
6. short on intelligence or maturity: dimwitted, dull; shallow, superficial [from 905 CE]

   Synonyms: 鈍い (nibui), 浅薄 (senpaku)

7. short of attention: fickle, shallow-hearted, flighty [from early 900s CE]

   Synonyms: 薄情 (hakujō), 変わりやすい (kawariyasui)

8. short-tempered, impatient, impetuous [from early 1600s]

   Synonyms: せっかち (sekkachi), 短気 (tanki)

Inflection

Inflection of 短い

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	短かろ	みじかかろ	mijikakaro
Continuative (連用形)	短く	みじかく	mijikaku
Terminal (終止形)	短い	みじかい	mijikai
Attributive (連体形)	短い	みじかい	mijikai
Hypothetical (仮定形)	短けれ	みじかけれ	mijikakere
Imperative (命令形)	短かれ	みじかかれ	mijikakare
Key constructions
Informal negative	短くない	みじかくない	mijikaku nai
Informal past	短かった	みじかかった	mijikakatta
Informal negative past	短くなかった	みじかくなかった	mijikaku nakatta
Formal	短いです	みじかいです	mijikai desu
Formal negative	短くないです	みじかくないです	mijikaku nai desu
Formal past	短かったです	みじかかったです	mijikakatta desu
Formal negative past	短くなかったです	みじかくなかったです	mijikaku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	短くて	みじかくて	mijikakute
Conditional	短ければ	みじかければ	mijikakereba
Provisional	短かったら	みじかかったら	mijikakattara
Volitional	短かろう	みじかかろう	mijikakarō
Adverbial	短く	みじかく	mijikaku
Degree	短さ	みじかさ	mijikasa

Derived terms

• 気(き)が短(みじか)い (ki ga mijikai): quick-tempered, impatient
• 手短(てみじか) (te mijika): brief, concise

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
短
みじか > みちか Grade: 3
irregular

Shift from standard みじかい (mijikai).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mʲit͡ɕika̠i]

Adjective

短(みちか)い • (michikai) -i (adverbial 短(みちか)く (michikaku))

1. (Ibaraki) short, brief

Further reading

• “短い”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026
• Ibaraki dialect entry at Nihon Jiten (in Japanese)