It’s time for our daily Japanese vocabulary! It’s important to study a little bit every day, so let’s work hard to remember one new word every single day.
Today’s word is scary!
~ Please remember that I use a mix of formal and casual Japanese in these posts! I use the type of language often found in shoujo manga~
How do I say scary in Japanese?
We can say it as an i adjective: kowai・こわい・怖い
We can also say it as a verb: osoreru・おそれる・恐る
The Kanji
Both 怖 and 恐 hold meanings of fear, dread, scary.
We can use both in compound words to create new, scary words!
Let’s make some practice sentences using 怖 and 恐!
Example 1
English: You should stay away from scary people like him.
Romaji only: Kare mitaina kowai hito to kyori o totta hou ga ii yo.
Hiragana only: かれ みたいな こわい ひと と きょり を とった ほう が いい よ。
Final: 彼みたいな怖い人と距離を取った方がいいよ。
Example 2
English: She was afraid of being found by him.
Romaji only: Kanojo wa kare ni mitsukerareru no o osoreteita.
Hiragana only: かのじょ は かれ に みつけられる の を おそれていた。
Final: 彼女は彼に見つけられるのを恐れていた。
Example 3
English: I would like to experience the fear of meeting a ghost.
Romaji only: Yuurei ni deau to iu kyoufu o ajiwatte mitai.
Hiragana only: ゆうれい に であう と いう きょうふ を あじわって みたい。
Final: 幽霊に出会うという恐怖を味わってみたい。
Example 4
English: She’s persistent to a scary degree.
Romaji only: Kanojo wa kowai hodo shitsukoi yo.
Hiragana only: かのじょ は こわい ほど しつこい よ。
Final: 彼女は怖いほどしつこいよ。
Example 5
English: Even though that teacher is feared by everyone, I’m not scared.
Romaji only: Ano sensei wa minna ni osorerareteiru no ni, watashi wa nazeka kowakunai.
Hiragana only: あの せんせい は みんな に おそれられている のに、わたし は なぜか こわくない。
Final: あの先生はみんなに恐れられているのに、私はなぜか怖くない。
Was my post helpful? I hope you learnt something! If you want to support me so that I can continue to share my love of all things shoujo, you can always buy me a coffee!
Maddies Manga 
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