末恐ろしい
すえおそろしい
adjective
frighteningly promising; awesome potential
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 末恐ろしい | 末恐ろしくない |
| Past | 末恐ろしかった | 末恐ろしくなかった |
| て form | 末恐ろしくて | 末恐ろしくなくて |
| Adverbial | 末恐ろしく | — |
| Conditional ば | 末恐ろしければ | 末恐ろしくなければ |
| Conditional たら | 末恐ろしかったら | 末恐ろしくなかったら |
1.
frighteningly promising; having awesome potential; formidable future
Describes someone (often a young person) whose talent or ability is so impressive that the thought of how much more they will develop is almost frightening. A strongly positive evaluation.
末恐ろしい子どもだ。
That child has frightening potential.
まだ高校生なのに、末恐ろしい才能だ。
They're still in high school, but their talent is frighteningly impressive.
デビュー作でこのレベルとは、末恐ろしい新人が現れたものだ。
For a debut work to be at this level — a formidably promising newcomer has appeared.
A compound of 末 (future, end) and 恐ろしい (frightening). The "fear" is paradoxically positive — it expresses awe at someone's potential and the exciting uncertainty of how great they might become. Almost exclusively used for young people or emerging talents.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 末恐ろしい才能: frighteningly impressive talent
- 末恐ろしい新人: a formidably promising newcomer
- 末恐ろしい子ども: a child with awesome potential
- 末恐ろしい存在: a frighteningly promising figure
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 将来有望: promising future — more neutral and conventional; lacks the dramatic emotional punch
- 底知れない: bottomless, unfathomable — describes unknowable depth of ability without the future-oriented nuance