Meaning

Primary

Nostalgic

Alternative

Missed

Word Type

い adjective

Explanation

What's the adjective form of nostalgia? It's nostalgic! Use 懐かしい for things fondly remembered, or things from your past that you've missed.

It can even be an interjection — kind of like "Oh, I remember this!" — when you come across something familiar that you haven't thought about in a long time, like a video game you played as a child or a song that trended years ago.

Reading

なつかしい
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

The reading is the one you learned with the kanji. Do you remember doing that? Oh man, those were the days. How 懐かしい.

Context

Context Sentences

懐かしい曲がスピーカーから流れてきました。

A song that brought back memories started playing through the speaker.

「え、懐かしい!文化祭で歌った曲だよね?懐かしすぎる…」 

"Wait, I remember this! It's the song we sang at the school festival, right? So nostalgic…"

昔のことを色々と思い出していたら、急に母の料理が懐かしくなって、実家に帰ることにした。

Thinking about the old days suddenly made me miss my mom's cooking, so I decided to go home to my parents' house.

母の料理を食べながら、「これこれ、この味!懐かしい!」と言ったら、こう返された。「いや、それ、初めて作ったんだけど…?」

While eating my mom's cooking, I said, "Yes, this is it! This taste brings back memories!" Only to be told, "Uh... I've never made that before...?"

Kanji Composition