JLPT N4 · い-adjective

厳しい (kibishii)

厳しい (きびしい, kibishii) is a Japanese い-adjective meaning “severe; strict”. It appears in JLPT N4 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading: きびしい
Romaji: kibishii
Word class: い-adjective
Level: JLPT N4 (unofficial)

Meaning

severe; strict; rigid; unsparing; relentless · い-adjective
hard (to do); difficult; tricky · い-adjective
intense (e.g. cold); harsh (weather); inclement · い-adjective

Example sentences

彼は厳しい批判にさらされた。

He was subjected to severe criticism.

Tatoeba #107627

練習がどんなに厳しくても、彼女は決して泣かなかった。

However hard the training was, she never cried.

Tatoeba #77426

ツンドラ地帯の気候は厳しい。

The tundra has a harsh climate.

Tatoeba #202513

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

Conjugation of 厳しい

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

Form	Japanese	Reading
Present	厳しい	きびしい kibishii
Negative	厳しくない	きびしくない kibishikunai
Past	厳しかった	きびしかった kibishikatta
Negative past	厳しくなかった	きびしくなかった kibishikunakatta
Te-form	厳しくて	きびしくて kibishikute
Adverb (~ku)	厳しく	きびしく kibishiku
Conditional (~ba)	厳しければ	きびしければ kibishikereba

Kanji in 厳しい

厳

stern, strictness, severityゲン・ゴン・おごそ.か・きび.しい · 17 strokes

Related words

Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 厳しい.

厳重げんじゅうstrict厳密げんみつstrict厳かおごそかsolemn (ceremony, atmosphere, etc.)

Source: JMdict entry 1262530 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.