〜き: This word shows something happened in the past. You saw or felt it yourself. You are remembering it now.

Dictionary

〜き

This word shows something happened in the past. You saw or felt it yourself. You are remembering it now.

KMT10ArchaicStandardClassical InflectionWritten OnlyClassicalClassical Completion And PerfectiveGrammar

Verb [stem] + きPrimary

い-Adjective [stem] + かり + き

This word shows something happened in the past. You saw or felt it yourself. You are remembering it now.

その昔、ここには大きな川流れき。

Long ago, a great river flowed here.

NeutralPastAffirmativeSentence EndingDeclarativeHistory Nature & Environment

夢かうつつか、現には知りざりき。

Whether it was a dream or reality, I did not truly know at the time.

FormalPastNegativeSentence EndingDeclarativeLiterature Emotions & Psychology

君が見し桜は、今も美しく咲き誇る。

The cherry blossoms that you saw are still blooming beautifully now.

FormalPastAffirmativePrenominalDeclarativeNature & Environment Literature

春来しかば、都へと心急ぎき。

Because spring had come, my heart hurried towards the capital.

FormalPastAffirmativeMid SentenceDeclarativeTravel & Transportation Nature & Environment

月はなほ、昔のごとく美しかりき。

The moon was still beautiful, just as it was in the old days.

FormalPastAffirmativeSentence EndingDeclarativeNature & Environment Literature

Imagine you are looking at an old photo album. Using '〜き' is like saying, 'I was there, I saw it with my own eyes.' It makes the story feel like a personal memory.

This is different from "〜けり". "〜けり" is for things you heard happened. It is also for things you just noticed. "〜き" is for things you did yourself. It is also different from "〜た". "〜た" is a normal past tense. It does not show strong personal memory.

Don't use this when you speak Japanese today. It is very old. It was used in old stories or poems. It is not for normal talking or writing.

Contrasts with(1)

〜けり

You use this when you just found out about something that happened. It can also tell old stories or things you heard.

Verb stem form

This is a special form of a verb. You use it to join verbs together. You can also use it to make a noun from a verb.

〜き / 〜し

This is an old way to talk about the past. You use it when you saw or felt something happen yourself. It is like saying 'I saw it' or 'I felt it'.

た形

This shows an action finished in the past. It also shows something that was true before now.

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Dictionary

〜き

This word shows something happened in the past. You saw or felt it yourself. You are remembering it now.

KMT10ArchaicStandardClassical InflectionWritten OnlyClassicalClassical Completion And PerfectiveGrammar

Verb [stem] + きPrimary

い-Adjective [stem] + かり + き

This word shows something happened in the past. You saw or felt it yourself. You are remembering it now.

その昔、ここには大きな川流れき。

Long ago, a great river flowed here.

NeutralPastAffirmativeSentence EndingDeclarativeHistory Nature & Environment

夢かうつつか、現には知りざりき。

Whether it was a dream or reality, I did not truly know at the time.

FormalPastNegativeSentence EndingDeclarativeLiterature Emotions & Psychology

君が見し桜は、今も美しく咲き誇る。

The cherry blossoms that you saw are still blooming beautifully now.

FormalPastAffirmativePrenominalDeclarativeNature & Environment Literature

春来しかば、都へと心急ぎき。

Because spring had come, my heart hurried towards the capital.

FormalPastAffirmativeMid SentenceDeclarativeTravel & Transportation Nature & Environment

月はなほ、昔のごとく美しかりき。

The moon was still beautiful, just as it was in the old days.

FormalPastAffirmativeSentence EndingDeclarativeNature & Environment Literature

Imagine you are looking at an old photo album. Using '〜き' is like saying, 'I was there, I saw it with my own eyes.' It makes the story feel like a personal memory.

Don't use this when you speak Japanese today. It is very old. It was used in old stories or poems. It is not for normal talking or writing.

Contrasts with(1)

〜けり

You use this when you just found out about something that happened. It can also tell old stories or things you heard.

Verb stem form

This is a special form of a verb. You use it to join verbs together. You can also use it to make a noun from a verb.

〜き / 〜し

This is an old way to talk about the past. You use it when you saw or felt something happen yourself. It is like saying 'I saw it' or 'I felt it'.

た形

This shows an action finished in the past. It also shows something that was true before now.

Track your mastery

Kumi's KMT system tracks your mastery across kanji, vocabulary, grammar, and reading. Create a free account to use it on 220,000+ concepts.

〜き

Patterns2

Meaning

Examples5

Nuance1

Contrasts1

Restrictions1

Compare with1

Contrasts with(1)

Prerequisites3

Track your mastery

〜き

Patterns2

Meaning

Examples5

Nuance1

Contrasts1

Restrictions1

Compare with1

Contrasts with(1)

Prerequisites3

Track your mastery