Meaning

Primary

Cruel

Alternatives

Awful, Severe

Word Type

い adjective

Explanation

This is a single kanji with an on the end, meaning you know it's probably an adjective. What's the adjective form of cruel? Cruel or awful.

Reading

ひどい
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn this reading yet, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

Think of a man who is cruel. Doesn't matter who, but pick one that you know of that is actually cruel. He can be a real person or someone in a movie or on TV. What does this man do? He do (ひど) cruel things.

Context

Context Sentences

彼女の作った料理は、どれも酷い味だった。

All of the food she made tasted awful.

自分の彼女によくもそんな酷い事が言えるね。

How can you say such a cruel thing to your own girlfriend?

こんなに暑さが酷くなるって分かっていたら、この国に引っ越していなかったよ。

If I had known the heat would be this severe, I wouldn't have moved to this country.

Kanji Composition