短(みじか)い

みじかい

i-adjective

short

size time-general

Conjugation

	Affirmative	Negative
Present	短(みじか)い	短(みじか)くない
Past	短(みじか)かった	短(みじか)くなかった
て form	短(みじか)くて	短(みじか)くなくて
Adverbial	短(みじか)く	—
Conditional ば	短(みじか)ければ	短(みじか)くなければ
Conditional たら	短(みじか)かったら	短(みじか)くなかったら

1. short (length)

Having little length. The opposite of 長(なが)い (long).

このスカートは短(みじか)いです。

This skirt is short.

髪(かみ)を短(みじか)くしました。

I cut my hair short.

Adverb form: 短(みじか)く

この鉛筆(えんぴつ)は短(みじか)いです。

This pencil is short.

足(あし)が短(みじか)いので、この椅子(いす)は高(たか)すぎます。

My legs are short, so this chair is too high.

返事(へんじ)が短(みじか)くてすみません。

Sorry my reply is so short.

Adverb form before なる: 短(みじか)くなる (to become short)

2. short (time/duration)

Lasting only a brief amount of time.

夏休(なつやす)みは短(みじか)かったです。

Summer vacation was short.

時間(じかん)が短(みじか)いので、急(いそ)いでください。

Time is short, so please hurry.

彼(かれ)との会話(かいわ)は短(みじか)かったです。

My conversation with him was short.

この映画(えいが)は短(みじか)くて、見(み)やすいです。

This movie is short and easy to watch.

人生(じんせい)は短(みじか)いから、毎日(まいにち)を大切(たいせつ)にしましょう。

Life is short, so let's treasure every day.

Forms

Adverb: 短(みじか)く
Make shorter: 短(みじか)くする
Noun form: 短(みじか)さ (shortness)
Moderative: 短(みじか)め (somewhat short, on the short side)

Common patterns

髪(かみ)が短(みじか)い: to have short hair
時間(じかん)が短(みじか)い: time is short
期間(きかん)が短(みじか)い: the period is short
短(みじか)くまとめる: to summarize briefly

Common expressions

気(き)が短(みじか)い: short-tempered, impatient. A fixed expression about personality, not about physical length; it has its own entry at 気(き)が短(みじか)い.

Similar words

長(なが)い: long (antonym)

Watch out

A short person is 背(せ)が低(ひく)い, not 短(みじか)い. 短(みじか)い is for length and duration, not height.

Related Words

Antonym: 長(なが)い (long)

Related: 短(みじか)め (somewhat short, on the short side)

Related: 気(き)が短(みじか)い (short-tempered (idiom))

Compare: 低(ひく)い (low)

Compare: 簡潔(かんけつ) (concise)

Compare: 儚(はかな)い (fleeting)

Compare: 手短(てみじか)に (briefly)

basic

Added 2026.1.7 21:48 · Revised 2026.9.30 1:25

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