Meet 短 in everyday words: its meaning here is short. Learn each word with its own reading.

The idea

短 has 12 strokes. Follow the linked stroke-order diagram. 短い is read みじかい and means short; 短くない is read みじかくない and means not short. 短かった is read みじかかった: was short.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
短いみじかいshort
短くないみじかくないnot short
短かったみじかかったwas short

Examples

  • このえんぴつは短みじかいです。This pencil is short.
  • 短みじかい文ぶんを書かきます。I write a short sentence.
  • この道みちは短みじかくないです。This road is not short.
  • 昨日きのうの映画えいがは短みじかかったです。Yesterday’s film was short.
  • 私わたしの髪かみは短みじかいです。My hair is short.
  • 短みじかい手紙てがみを読よみます。I read a short letter.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Compare 短 with 知; notice their different parts and strokes rather than guessing from the overall shape. 短い is an i-adjective. Replace い with くない for the negative or かった for the past; keep the kana ending.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 短い in hiragana.

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    みじかい

    短い is read みじかい; it means short. Remember the reading with the whole word.

  2. Write the reading of 短くない in hiragana.

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    みじかくない

    短くない is read みじかくない; it means not short. Remember the reading with the whole word.

  3. Write みじかかった in kanji for “was short”.

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    短かった

    短かった is written with 短 and read みじかかった; it means was short.

Use it today

Write 短 three times using the linked stroke order. Cover the table, read 短い and 短くない, and make a sentence with one of them.