儚(はかな)い

はかない
i-adjective
fleeting; ephemeral; transient
1. fleeting; ephemeral; transient
lasting only a short time; easily lost or destroyed; having a fragile, impermanent quality
人生(じんせい)は儚(はかな)い。
Life is fleeting.
桜(さくら)の美(うつく)しさは儚(はかな)いからこそ愛(あい)される。
Cherry blossoms are loved precisely because their beauty is fleeting.
彼女(かのじょ)の儚(はかな)い笑顔(えがお)が印象(いんしょう)に残(のこ)っている。
Her fragile smile left an impression on me.

儚(はかな)い expresses the transient, ephemeral nature of things, often with a sense of beauty or sadness.

FORMS:

  • Attributive: 儚(はかな)い + noun
  • Predicate: 儚(はかな)い
  • Adverbial: 儚(はかな)く
  • Noun form: 儚(はかな)さ (transience)

KANJI NOTE:

  • The kanji 儚(はかな) (人(にんべん) + 夢(ゆめ)) literally suggests "person + dream," evoking the dreamlike, insubstantial quality of fleeting things.
  • Often written in hiragana (はかない) in modern usage.

CULTURAL CONTEXT:

  • Central to Japanese aesthetics (物(もの)の哀(あわ)れ)
  • Associated with cherry blossoms, fireflies, and other symbols of transience
  • Reflects Buddhist concepts of impermanence (無常(むじょう))

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 儚(はかな)い命(いのち) (fleeting life)
  • 儚(はかな)い夢(ゆめ) (ephemeral dream)
  • 儚(はかな)い美(うつく)しさ (transient beauty)
  • 儚(はかな)い希望(きぼう) (fragile hope)

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 短(みじか)い (short - neutral, objective)
  • 束(つか)の間(ま) (momentary - time-focused)
  • 脆(もろ)い (fragile - physical fragility)

REGISTER: Literary/formal. Often used in poetry and emotional contexts.

general
Added 2026.1.22 14:13
07500/07898_hakanai