堅(かた)い

かたい
i-adjective
firm; solid; strict; reliable; stiff
descriptive
See also: 硬(かた)い (hard, stiff (硬)), 固(かた)い (firm, tight (固))
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present堅(かた)い堅(かた)くない
Past堅(かた)かった堅(かた)くなかった
て form堅(かた)くて堅(かた)くなくて
Adverbial堅(かた)く—
Conditional ば堅(かた)ければ堅(かた)くなければ
Conditional たら堅(かた)かったら堅(かた)くなかったら
1. firm; solid; strong; secure
Firmly held, secured, or established. Used for things that are reliably solid, like a firm handshake, solid defense, or secure promise.
堅(かた)い握手(あくしゅ)を交(か)わした。
We exchanged a firm handshake.
堅(かた)い守(まも)りで失点(しってん)を防(ふせ)いだ。
A solid defense prevented them from scoring.
彼(かれ)の当選(とうせん)は堅(かた)いと言(い)われている。
His election victory is said to be a sure thing.
2. strict; upright; serious; rigid in character
Describes a person or behavior that is strict, serious, principled, or inflexible. Can be positive (reliable, upright) or negative (stiff, uptight).
彼女(かのじょ)は堅(かた)い人(ひと)だ。
She is a strait-laced person.
そんなに堅(かた)いことを言(い)うなよ。
Don't be so rigid about it.
口(くち)が堅(かた)いから秘密(ひみつ)を話(はな)しても大丈夫(だいじょうぶ)だよ。
He can keep a secret, so it's fine to tell him.

One of three homophones all read かたい: 固(かた)い (physically hard/solid, like frozen food), 硬(かた)い (hard in texture/stiff, like a hard mattress), and 堅(かた)い (firm/reliable/strict, abstract qualities). 堅(かた)い focuses on firmness of character, reliability, and certainty. Key collocations: 口(くち)が堅(かた)い (tight-lipped, able to keep secrets), 堅(かた)い商売(しょうばい) (a safe/reliable business), 頭(あたま)が堅(かた)い (rigid/inflexible thinking), 堅(かた)い守(まも)り (solid defense). The expression 堅(かた)いことを言(い)う means 'to be strict/fussy about things.'

Related Words

Compare: 生真面目(きまじめ) (overly serious)
Compare: 真面目(まじめ)な (serious)
Compare: 真面目(まじめ)くさい (overly serious)
general
Added 2026.3.23 11:04 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
18500/18753_katai