The Meaning of shitashii [親しい] In Japanese

親しい
したしい
Romaji: shitashii N5

What does 親しい mean?

Translation and Meaning

close, intimate, familiar, friendly

Definition

What does 親しい mean? It denotes a warm, comfortable closeness in a relationship, indicating you know someone well and feel at ease with them; it describes people you interact with regularly in a friendly, trusting way.

Type

i-adjective (形容詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • a close relationship or sense of familiarity between people
  • a friendly, easy rapport; a warm social tone when referring to someone
  • used in compounds to express closeness such as 親しい友人
  • often contrasts with formal distance or distant attitudes

Composition

  • 親: root meaning close, intimate; also used for parent in other contexts
  • しい: common i-adjective suffix that marks a property

Usage

Used in casual to semi formal contexts to describe someone you know well; marks closeness as a social attribute rather than a formal bond; common patterns include 親しい人, 親しい関係, 親しくする; not appropriate for describing distant or official relationships.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: imagine a warm family hug around the kanji 親; the suffix しい then makes it describe a property, turning the idea of closeness into an adjective.

Variations

  • 親密な (shinmitsu na) — close, intimate
  • 仲の良い (naka no yoi) — on good terms, friendly
  • 疎遠な (soen na) — distant, estranged
  • 無関係な (mukankeina) — unrelated

Example Phrases

  • 私の親しい友人が昨日、手紙をくれた。
    Watashi no shitashii yūjin ga kinō, tegami o kureta.
    A close friend of mine gave me a letter yesterday.
    Lista:
    • 私 (watashi) – I
    • の (no) – possessive ‘of’
    • 親しい (shitashii) – close
    • 友人 (yūjin) – friend
    • が (ga) – subject marker
    • 昨日 (kinō) – yesterday
    • 手紙 (tegami) – letter
    • を (o) – object marker
    • くれた (kureta) – gave me
    This sentence uses the i-adjective 親しい before the noun 友人 to express a close relationship, i.e., 「親しい」 modifies 「友人」.
親しい