Meaning

Primary

Precious

Alternative

Valuable

Word Type

noun, な adjective

Explanation

Something that's valuable and heavy is extremely precious and probably even more valuable than your less heavy things.

貴重 is used especially when something is rare, important, or hard to replace. You can use it for physical things, but you'll see it used to show appreciation for intangible things too, like 貴重なご意見 (your valuable opinion) or 貴重な体験 (a precious experience).

Reading

きちょう
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This is a jukugo word that uses the on'yomi readings of the kanji. You didn't learn this reading for with the kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

Keep things precious to you very close, because the evil Mrs. Chou (ちょう) will come and steal them away if you don't. She'll take all the valuable things you have and destroy them.

Context

Pattern of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 貴重なもの

    valuable thing

    貴重な経験

    valuable experience

    貴重な時間

    valuable time

    貴重な情報

    valuable information

Context Sentences

その本は今では非常に貴重です。

That book is extremely rare now.

貴重なご意見を有難うございます。

Thank you for your valuable opinions.

その体験は彼にとって貴重な学びになった。

That experience became a valuable lesson for him.

これ以上、貴重な時間をムダにしたくないんです。

I don't want to waste any more of my precious time.

Kanji Composition