浅い
asai
Water and a career can both be 'shallow'
The picture You put your hand in and hit the bottom at once — there is nowhere further down to go. 浅い is a bottom right under the surface; 深い is a bottom far below it.
Where the picture shows up in 浅い
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shallow water
ここは浅いから子供も入れます。
koko wa asai kara kodomo mo haire-masu
It's shallow here, so kids can go in too.
Water only knee-high, with the stones under your feet in plain view
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light sleep
眠りが浅くて何度も起きました。
nemuri ga asaku-te nando mo oki-mashita
I slept lightly and woke up again and again.
One footstep in the corridor and the eyes open onto the ceiling
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little experience
まだ経験が浅いです。
mada keiken ga asai desu
I'm still new at this.
New work clothes on, eyes following the senior's fingertips
経験が浅い is the standard humble way to say you are still new.
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a new acquaintance
付き合いは浅いですが信頼しています。
tsukiai wa asai desu ga shinrai shi-te i-masu
We haven't known each other long, but I trust him.
Two people standing side by side who only just swapped business cards
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a shallow cut
傷は浅いので大丈夫です。
kizu wa asai node daijōbu desu
The cut is shallow, so it's fine.
Water runs over the beaded blood and the line closes right up
All of it in one picture
浅い is one picture: the bottom sitting just under the surface. Close in water and a child can stand; close in sleep and every noise wakes you; close in a wound and it closes over fast. Close in experience means few years stacked up, and close in a friendship means a tie that hasn't had long yet.