懐かしい

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Japanese

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Kanji in this term
なつ
Grade: S
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
懷かしい (kyūjitai)

Etymology

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Originally derived from verb 懐く (natsuku, to get used to and keep close; to become fond of),[1][2][3] itself an abbreviation of 馴れ付く (naretsuku) of the same meaning.[1] The adjective originally described wanting to keep something close, wanting to express fondness for something. Over time, this term was used more to describe reminiscences, leading to the modern meaning.[1]

Pronunciation

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  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「懐かしい
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 懐かしく つかしく
つかし
[nàtsúkáꜜshìkù]
[nàtsúkáshíꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形) 懐かしい つかし [nàtsúkáshíꜜì]
Attributive (連体形) 懐かしい つかし [nàtsúkáshíꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative 懐かしくない つかしくない
つかしくない
[nàtsúkáꜜshìkùnàì]
[nàtsúkáshíꜜkùnàì]
Informal past 懐かしかった つかしかった
つかしかった
[nàtsúkáꜜshìkàttà]
[nàtsúkáshíꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past 懐かしくなかった つかしくなかった
つかしくなかった
[nàtsúkáꜜshìkùnàkàttà]
[nàtsúkáshíꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal 懐かしいです つかしいです [nàtsúkáshíꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive 懐かしくて つかしくて
つかしくて
[nàtsúkáꜜshìkùtè]
[nàtsúkáshíꜜkùtè]
Conditional 懐かしければ つかしければ
つかしければ
[nàtsúkáꜜshìkèrèbà]
[nàtsúkáshíꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective

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(なつ)かしい (natsukashii-i (adverbial (なつ)かしく (natsukashiku))

  1. nostalgic, reminiscent of good memories, missed, longed for, yearned after
  2. (archaic) dear, beloved, cherished, sweet

Usage notes

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The second meaning of 懐かしい is largely equivalent to a verb in English, even though it functions grammatically as an adjective. In this regard it is quite similar to the adjective 好き (suki, liked). In Japanese, to express a yearning for something, or a slightly nostalgic feeling of missing something, you modify the object that is missed (such as home, one's old neighborhood, one's friend, one's cat) with 懐かしい. In this regard, Japanese is quite unlike English.

Inflection

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Derived terms

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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN