甘い

Japanese

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.^[1] From Proto-Japonic *ama.

Stem forms
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Continuative (連用形)	甘く	あまく	`[àmákú]`
Terminal (終止形)	甘い	あまいあまい	`[àmáí]` `[àmáꜜì]`
Attributive (連体形)	甘い	あまい	`[àmáí]`
Key constructions
Informal negative	甘くない	あまくない	`[àmákúnáꜜì]`
Informal past	甘かった	あまかった	`[àmáꜜkàttà]`
Informal negative past	甘くなかった	あまくなかった	`[àmákúnáꜜkàttà]`
Formal	甘いです	あまいです	`[àmáꜜìdèsù]`
Conjunctive	甘くて	あまくて	`[àmáꜜkùtè]`
Conditional	甘ければ	あまければ	`[àmáꜜkèrèbà]`

甘(あま)い • (amai) -i (adverbial 甘(あま)く (amaku))

[from 720] sweet, sugary, mellow
Antonyms: 辛い (karai), 苦い (nigai), 酸っぱい (suppai)

甘(あま)いケーキ ― amai kēki ― sweet cake
[from early 1000s] lacking saltiness
Antonym: 塩っぱい (shoppai)
[from 1600] indulgent, soft
女子(じょし)に甘(あま)い ― joshi ni amai ― soft on girls
[from 1477] careless, lacking, lax
作(つく)りが甘(あま)い ― tsukuri ga amai ― the construction is careless → flimsy, slapdash, slipshod

管理(かんり)が甘(あま)い ― kanri ga amai ― the management is lax → poorly managed
[from 850] (figurative) fragrant (of odor), melodious (of sound)
ゆりは甘(あま)い香(かお)りがする。 ― Yuri wa amai kaori ga suru. ― Lilies have a fragrant smell.

For pronunciation and definitions of 甘い – see the following entry.

Alternative spellings
美味い, 旨い, 甘美い

(This term, 甘い, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

^ “甘”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō
^ 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

Basic tastes in Japanese · 味覚(みかく) (mikaku) (layout · text)

甘(あま)い (amai)	酸(す)っぱい (suppai)	塩(しょ)っぱい (shoppai)	苦(にが)い (nigai)	辛(から)い (karai)	旨味(うまみ) (umami)