怖(こわ)い

こわい
adjective (i-adjective)
scary, frightening
See also: 怖(こわ)がる (-がる verb form)
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present怖(こわ)い怖(こわ)くない
Past怖(こわ)かった怖(こわ)くなかった
て form怖(こわ)くて怖(こわ)くなくて
Adverbial怖(こわ)く—
Conditional ば怖(こわ)ければ怖(こわ)くなければ
Conditional たら怖(こわ)かったら怖(こわ)くなかったら
1. scary, frightening
Describes something that causes fear or is frightening. Can also describe the feeling of being scared.
その映画(えいが)は怖(こわ)かったです。
That movie was scary.
暗(くら)いところが怖(こわ)いです。
I'm scared of dark places.
Expressing fear of something
怖(こわ)い夢(ゆめ)を見(み)ました。
I had a scary dream.
犬(いぬ)が怖(こわ)くて、近(ちか)づけません。
I'm scared of dogs, so I can't go near them.
子供(こども)の時(とき)は夜(よる)一人(ひとり)で外(そと)に出(で)るのが怖(こわ)かったです。
When I was a child, I was scared of going outside alone at night.

怖(こわ)い covers both "scary" (describing what causes fear) and "scared" (describing the feeling); context decides which. The feared thing is marked with が: 犬(いぬ)が怖(こわ)い ("I'm afraid of dogs").

USAGE:

  • Use it of frightening things (a movie, a dog, the dark) and of one's own fear alike.
  • For someone else's fear as an ongoing action, switch to the verb 怖(こわ)がる ("to be/act afraid"), since a plain adjective most naturally describes the speaker's own feeling.

REGISTER:
Neutral and everyday. The slangy ビビる ("to be freaked out") is casual only.

FORMS:

  • 怖(こわ)くて: "scary and…" or "because it's scary"
  • 怖(こわ)くない: "not scary"
  • 怖(こわ)かった: "was scary"

COLLOCATIONS:

SIMILAR ADJECTIVES:

Related Words

Synonym: 恐(おそ)ろしい (terrifying (stronger))
basic
Added 2026.1.7 21:37 · Revised 2026.6.18 6:21
00500/00864_kowai