A1 Expression Neutral

汚いです

kitanai desu

It's dirty

Phrase in 30 Seconds

Use {汚い|きたない}です to describe anything that is physically dirty, messy, or unclean in a standard polite tone.

  • Means: Something is dirty or unclean.
  • Used in: Describing rooms, clothes, or general hygiene.
  • Don't confuse: {汚い|きたない} (dirty) with {嫌い|きらい} (dislike).
Messy room + Frowning face = {汚い|きたない}です

Explanation at your level:

{汚い|きたない} means dirty. You use it when something is not clean. For example, if your room is messy, you say 'This room is dirty'.
This is an i-adjective used to describe physical objects that are soiled. In Japanese, it is common to use this to express that a space needs cleaning. It can also describe unfair actions.
Beyond physical states, {汚い|きたない} is frequently used in social contexts to describe behavior that lacks integrity. It is an essential adjective for expressing dissatisfaction with one's environment or the conduct of others in a direct manner.
The term carries significant weight regarding social etiquette. While it functions as a simple descriptor, its usage requires caution due to the potential for causing offense. It effectively bridges the semantic domains of hygiene and moral ethics.
Linguistically, {汚い|きたない} functions as a primary evaluative adjective. Its etymological connection to spiritual impurity highlights the cultural intersection of hygiene and morality. In discourse, it serves as a strong marker of negative evaluation, often necessitating mitigation in formal registers.
The lexical item {汚い|きたない} demonstrates the cognitive mapping of physical dirt to abstract moral failings. In Japanese pragmatics, the choice to use this term over more euphemistic alternatives like 'not clean' signals a high degree of subjective judgment or frustration, reflecting the speaker's alignment with societal norms of order and purity.

Bedeutung

To describe something as dirty or unclean.

🌍

Kultureller Hintergrund

Cleanliness is next to godliness in Japan. Public spaces are kept pristine. Calling someone 'dirty' is a major social faux pas in almost all cultures.

💡

Context is key

Always check if you are describing a thing or a person to avoid being rude.

Bedeutung

To describe something as dirty or unclean.

💡

Context is key

Always check if you are describing a thing or a person to avoid being rude.

Teste dich selbst

Which word means 'dirty'?

The room is ____.

✓ Richtig! ✗ Nicht ganz. Richtige Antwort: {汚い|きたない}

{汚い|きたない} is the adjective for dirty.

🎉 Ergebnis: /1

Visuelle Lernhilfen

Häufig gestellte Fragen

1 Fragen

Only if you are being very rude or describing their clothes.

Verwandte Redewendungen

🔗

{掃除|そうじ}する

builds on

To clean

🔗

{綺麗|きれい}な

contrast

Clean/Beautiful

Wo du es verwendest

🧹

Cleaning the room

Mom: 部屋が{汚い|きたない}ですよ。

Son: はい、今掃除します。

neutral
🎮

Unfair game

Friend: 今の技は{汚い|きたない}！

You: 勝てばいいんだよ。

informal

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Think of a 'Kitten' (Kitanai) playing in the mud and getting dirty.

Visual Association

A white kitten jumping into a puddle of mud. It is now a 'Kitanai' kitten.

Rhyme

The kitten is muddy, the kitten is Kitanai.

Story

I saw a kitten. It jumped in the mud. Now it is very Kitanai. I must wash it.

Word Web

{汚れる|よごれる}{清潔|せいけつ}{掃除|そうじ}{ゴミ|ごみ}{不潔|ふけつ}{綺麗|きれい}

Herausforderung

Look around your room for 5 minutes and label everything that is 'Kitanai'.

In Other Languages

Spanish high

Sucio

Japanese has a stronger cultural taboo against being 'dirty'.

French high

Sale

French uses 'sale' more freely as an insult.

German high

Schmutzig

Japanese doesn't use 'kitanai' for jokes.

Japanese self

{汚い|きたない}

N/A

Arabic high

وسخ (Wasikh)

Arabic has stronger religious connotations for 'cleanliness'.

Easily Confused

汚いです vs. {嫌い|きらい}

Sounds similar.

Kitanai (dirty) vs Kirai (dislike).

FAQ (1)

Only if you are being very rude or describing their clothes.

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