堅い
かたい
i-adjective
firm; solid; strict; reliable; stiff
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 堅い | 堅くない |
| Past | 堅かった | 堅くなかった |
| て form | 堅くて | 堅くなくて |
| Adverbial | 堅く | — |
| Conditional ば | 堅ければ | 堅くなければ |
| Conditional たら | 堅かったら | 堅くなかったら |
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.
堅い握手を交わした。
We exchanged a firm handshake.
堅い守りで失点を防いだ。
A solid defense prevented them from scoring.
彼の当選は堅いと言われている。
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).
彼女は堅い人だ。
She is a strait-laced person.
そんなに堅いことを言うなよ。
Don't be so rigid about it.
口が堅いから秘密を話しても大丈夫だよ。
He can keep a secret, so it's fine to tell him.
One of three homophones all read かたい: 固い (physically hard/solid, like frozen food), 硬い (hard in texture/stiff, like a hard mattress), and 堅い (firm/reliable/strict, abstract qualities). 堅い focuses on firmness of character, reliability, and certainty. Key collocations: 口が堅い (tight-lipped, able to keep secrets), 堅い商売 (a safe/reliable business), 頭が堅い (rigid/inflexible thinking), 堅い守り (solid defense). The expression 堅いことを言う means 'to be strict/fussy about things.'