JLPT N3 · い-adjective

きつい (kitsui)

きつい is a Japanese い-adjective meaning “tough; hard”. It appears in JLPT N3 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading: きつい
Romaji: kitsui
Word class: い-adjective
Level: JLPT N3 (unofficial)

Meaning

tough; hard; severe; demanding; harsh · い-adjective
determined; strong-minded; forceful; formidable; fierce · い-adjective
strong (e.g. sunlight, alcohol); severe; intense · い-adjective
(too) tight; constricting; close · い-adjective
extreme; unusually strong · い-adjective

Example sentences

フーッ、この坂道はきついよ。でも帰りは楽だよね。

Whew! This is a tough hill. But coming back sure will be a breeze.

Tatoeba #237580

トムは頭にきつい一発を受けた。

Tom received a heavy blow on the head.

Tatoeba #199848

ちょっとウエストがきついね。

The waist is a little small.

Tatoeba #202858

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of きつい

い-adjective. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

Form	Japanese	Reading
Present	きつい	きつい kitsui
Negative	きつくない	きつくない kitsukunai
Past	きつかった	きつかった kitsukatta
Negative past	きつくなかった	きつくなかった kitsukunakatta
Te-form	きつくて	きつくて kitsukute
Adverb (~ku)	きつく	きつく kitsuku
Conditional (~ba)	きつければ	きつければ kitsukereba

Source: JMdict entry 1003450 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.