Meaning

Primary

Low

Alternative

Short

Word Type

い adjective

Explanation

This is a single kanji with an on the end, meaning you know it's probably an adjective. What's the adjective form of low? It's low.

Reading

ひくい
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

You look down and very low to the ground is a man, looking up at you. Your friend is there too, but you don't know this little man. Your friend says "He coo', he coo," referring to the low to the ground man.

Context

Patterns of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 身長が低い

    short in stature

    レベルが低い

    level is low

    点数が低い

    low score

Context Sentences

低い声の男の人が好きです。

I like a guy with a low voice.

うちのむすめは、平きんよりやや身長が低いんです。

Our daughter is a little shorter than average.

「ねぇ、ゆきちゃん。あんた、あまり元気じゃなさそうね。」「うん。そうなの。低血圧症って診断されたわ。」「何それ?」「つまり、私の血圧がめちゃくちゃ低いってこと。」「どれくらい低いの?」「えっと、今朝は上が80で下が40ぐらいだったかな。」

"Hey, Yuki. You don’t look so good." "Yeah, I know. I was diagnosed with hypotension." "What’s that?" "It just means that my blood pressure is really, really low." "How low is that?" "Well, this morning was about 80/40."

Kanji Composition