Japanese word

急

Pronunciation

Romajikyū

Meaning

  • na-adjectivesudden

Example

急な雨に気をつけてください。kyū na ame ni ki o tsu ke te ku da sa i

Please be careful of sudden rain.

Illustration for 急 (sudden)

More examples

急な知らせに、みんな驚きました。kyū na shi ra se ni mi n na odoro ki ma shi ta

Everyone was surprised by the sudden news.

Core concept

Marks an event or change as arriving without the warning or preparation that would normally precede it.

Common phrases

  • 急な雨kyū na ame

    sudden rain

  • 急な変化kyū na hen ka

    sudden change

Similar words

突然totsuzen: Happening unexpectedly, with little or no advance warning.
唐突tōtotsu: Coming without a natural lead-in or expected connection.
不意fui: Happening unexpectedly and leaving people unprepared.

Definition in Japanese

予告や心構えがないまま、物事が突然起こるさま。yo koku ya kokoro gama e ga na i ma ma mono goto ga totsu zen o ko ru sa ma

Word origin

急な (kyū na, "sudden") combines 急 (kyū, "urgent; sudden"), a Sino-Japanese element, with な (na), the form used by na-adjectives before nouns.

Usage tips

  • In conversational Japanese, 急な (kyū na) can describe an unexpected request or change as well as an event that starts suddenly, so it often signals a lack of advance notice.

Other meanings

  • unexpectedna-adjective
  • abruptna-adjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word