Skip to content

軽い

karui

Why a box and a mouth are both 'light' in Japanese

The picture You lift it and nothing drags your arm down — it comes straight up. 軽い is the arm rising easily; 重い is the arm being dragged down.

Describing words

Where the picture shows up in 軽い

  1. the arm rises

    この箱は軽いので一人で運べます。

    kono hako wa karui node hitori de hakobe-masu

    This box is light, so I can carry it alone.

    Hands grip the box handles and the arms come up with no resistance

  2. the body doesn't drag

    今日は体が軽いです。

    kyō wa karada ga karui desu

    My body feels light today.

    Feet taking the stairs two steps at a time first thing in the morning

  3. only a shallow degree

    軽いけがで済みました。

    karui kega de sumi-mashita

    It was only a light injury.

    One bandage goes on and the person walks straight back to work

  4. a small meal

    昼は軽く食べます。

    hiru wa karuku tabe-masu

    I eat light at lunch.

    One rice ball and a cup of tea on the desk, nothing else

    軽く食べる means eating a small, quick amount — not eating something light in texture.

  5. a mouth that leaks

    口が軽い人には話せません。

    kuchi ga karui hito ni wa hanase-masen

    You can't tell anything to someone with a light mouth.

    What you said flows out of his mouth and straight into the next person's ear

All of it in one picture

軽い is one feeling: nothing pulling downward. A box that doesn't pull is light; a body that doesn't pull is in good shape; an injury that doesn't pull is nothing serious; a meal that doesn't pull is a quick bite. And a mouth that doesn't hold anything down lets every word you told it slide straight out.

Next

See all Japanese core images