惜しい
おしい
i-adjective
regrettable, close
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 惜しい | 惜しくない |
| Past | 惜しかった | 惜しくなかった |
| て form | 惜しくて | 惜しくなくて |
| Adverbial | 惜しく | — |
| Conditional ば | 惜しければ | 惜しくなければ |
| Conditional たら | 惜しかったら | 惜しくなかったら |
1.
regrettable, unfortunate, a shame
Used when something valuable is wasted or lost, or when a good opportunity is missed.
時間が惜しい。
Time is precious. / I don't want to waste time.
あんな才能を無駄にするのは惜しい。
It's a shame to waste such talent.
若くして亡くなったのは惜しい。
It's regrettable that they passed away so young.
2.
close, almost
Used when someone nearly succeeds at something but falls short.
惜しい！もう少しだった。
So close! You almost had it.
答えは惜しかったけど、間違いだ。
The answer was close, but wrong.
あと一点で優勝だったのに、惜しかった。
We were just one point away from winning - so close.
惜しい is an i-adjective with two related meanings: feeling regret about waste/loss, and being tantalizingly close to success.
SENSE 1 — REGRETTABLE:
Expresses that something valuable is being wasted or lost, or that a loss is lamentable.
- 時間が惜しい: time is precious (don't waste it)
- 命が惜しい: one's life is dear
- 捨てるのは惜しい: it would be a waste to throw away
SENSE 2 — SO CLOSE:
Used when someone nearly succeeds but falls short.
- 惜しい！: So close! (exclamation in sports/games)
- 惜しくも負けた: lost by a narrow margin
- あと少しで惜しかった: it was so close, just a little more
FORMS:
- Adverbial: 惜しくも (regrettably, so close)
- Noun form: 惜しさ (the feeling of regret/closeness)