凄まじい
Japanese
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 凄 |
| すさ Grade: S |
| kun’yomi |
Etymology
From Old Japanese. First cited in the Nihon Shoki of 720.[1]
Derived from verb 荒む (susamu, “to grow wild, to fall into ruin, to go to waste; to lose force and cease (such as wind or rain); to become absorbed in doing something; to grow old and weak”),[1][2] possibly from the causative form 荒ます (susamasu). May be cognate with the susa element in the name of the Shinto god, Susanoo-no-Mikoto.
The term initially evoked senses of desolate, depressing in reference to people or emotions, and desolate, wild, chilly in reference to natural phenomena. Usage then shifted to a focus on frightful, terrible, extreme during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1100s–1500s).[1][2]
The adjective appears initially without voicing on the last element, as susamashi in the terminal form.[1][2] The voicing appears from roughly the Kamakura period (late 1100s–early 1300s), with both unvoiced susamashi and voiced susamaji appearing in free variation until the late 1500s.[2]
Pronunciation
- (Tokyo) すさまじい [sùsámájíꜜì] (Nakadaka – [4])[2][3]
- IPA(key): [sɨᵝsa̠ma̠ʑiː]
Adjective
凄まじい • (susamajii) -i (adverbial 凄まじく (susamajiku))
- dreadful, threatening
- fierce, extreme, tremendous
Inflection
| Stem forms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperfective (未然形) | 凄まじかろ | すさまじかろ | susamajikaro |
| Continuative (連用形) | 凄まじく | すさまじく | susamajiku |
| Terminal (終止形) | 凄まじい | すさまじい | susamajii |
| Attributive (連体形) | 凄まじい | すさまじい | susamajii |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | 凄まじけれ | すさまじけれ | susamajikere |
| Imperative (命令形) | 凄まじかれ | すさまじかれ | susamajikare |
| Key constructions | |||
| Informal negative | 凄まじくない | すさまじくない | susamajiku nai |
| Informal past | 凄まじかった | すさまじかった | susamajikatta |
| Informal negative past | 凄まじくなかった | すさまじくなかった | susamajiku nakatta |
| Formal | 凄まじいです | すさまじいです | susamajii desu |
| Formal negative | 凄まじくないです | すさまじくないです | susamajiku nai desu |
| Formal past | 凄まじかったです | すさまじかったです | susamajikatta desu |
| Formal negative past | 凄まじくなかったです | すさまじくなかったです | susamajiku nakatta desu |
| Conjunctive | 凄まじくて | すさまじくて | susamajikute |
| Conditional | 凄まじければ | すさまじければ | susamajikereba |
| Provisional | 凄まじかったら | すさまじかったら | susamajikattara |
| Volitional | 凄まじかろう | すさまじかろう | susamajikarō |
| Adverbial | 凄まじく | すさまじく | susamajiku |
| Degree | 凄まじさ | すさまじさ | susamajisa |
| Stem forms | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrealis (未然形) | 凄まじく[1] 凄まじから[2] | すさまじく すさまじから | susamaziku susamazikara | |
| Continuative (連用形) | 凄まじく[1] 凄まじかり[2] | すさまじく すさまじかり | susamaziku susamazikari | |
| Terminal (終止形) | 凄まじ | すさまじ | susamazi | |
| Attributive (連体形) | 凄まじき 凄まじかる | すさまじき すさまじかる | susamaziki susamazikaru | |
| Realis (已然形) | 凄まじけれ | すさまじけれ | susamazikere | |
| Imperative (命令形) | 凄まじかれ | すさまじかれ | susamazikare | |
| Key constructions | ||||
| Negative | 凄まじからず | すさまじからず | susamazikarazu | |
| Contrasting conjunction | 凄まじけれど | すさまじけれど | susamazikeredo | |
| Causal conjunction | 凄まじければ | すさまじければ | susamazikereba | |
| Conditional conjunction | 凄まじくば | すさまじくば | susamazikuba | |
| Past tense (firsthand knowledge) | 凄まじかりき | すさまじかりき | susamazikariki | |
| Past tense (secondhand knowledge) | 凄まじかりけり | すさまじかりけり | susamazikarikeri | |
| Adverbial | 凄まじく | すさまじく | susamaziku | |
| [1]Without auxiliary verb. [2]With auxiliary verb. | ||||
References
- 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN