だい
Meanings
Adjective (な)
Noun
Prefix
1. large; big; great; huge; vast; major; important; serious; severe
Prefix
2. great; prominent; eminent; distinguished
Suffix
3. -sized; as big as; the size of
4. university
Noun
5. large (e.g. serving size); large option
6. long month (i.e. having 31 days)
Kanji used
large
Pitch accent
Top 400
Used in vocabulary (475 in total)
safe; secure; certainly; surely; no thanks; I'm good
important; serious; valuable; precious; serious matter; major incident
loveable; very likeable; like very much
adult; grown-up
university; college; former central university of Kyoto (established under the ritsuryo system for the training of government administrators); the Great Learning (one of the Four Books)
outline; main points; generally; on the whole; general; rough
ground; earth; the solid earth; the (vast) land
biggest; greatest; largest; maximum
general; admiral; head; chief; old chap; mate
serious; important; significant; grave; weighty
great; grand; magnificent; outstanding; mighty
bold; daring; audacious
mighty; powerful
considerably; greatly; a lot
considerably; greatly; a lot
president (of a nation); big man; boss; buddy
detestable; abhorrent; loathsome
university student; college student
big snake; serpent
most part; greater part; majority
size; large and small (sizes); various sizes; daishō (matched pair of long and short swords); large and small drums; long months and short months; sic bo (Macao dice game)
tremendous; immense
great (quantity, amount, etc.); huge; enormous; serious
serious crime; grave sin
large front gate
enlargement; increase
tolerant; generous; lenient; broad-minded; magnanimous
magnificent; grand; majestic; splendid
one large ...; a great ...
daikon (variety of large white Oriental radish, Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus); ham actor
grand; magnificent; majestic; great; sublime
very popular; highly favoured
archbishop (Catholic)
being very active; being very useful; playing a very active part; making a spectacular showing; great efforts; splendid work
leading aristocrat; great house; grand seigneur; boyar
(one's) favourite food; (one's) favorite food
the big three ...
chaos; turmoil; pandemonium; havoc
major incident; major happening; big scandal
long and large; tall and large; grand; huge
haughty; arrogant; pompous; self-important
university or college offering four-year programs; the big four ...; the four major ...
outrageous; monstrous; appalling; inordinate; overambitious
great disaster; horrible tragedy; catastrophe; catastrophic event; catastrophic incident; dire calamity
commander-in-chief; Taishōgun; one of the eight gods of the koyomi
metropolis; large city
long sword (esp. the tachi, worn on the hip edge down by samurai); large sword; straight single-edged Japanese sword (from the mid-Heian period or earlier); guandao; Chinese glaive
large company; large enterprise; large corporation
as soon as possible; ASAP
major premise (in a syllogism); important condition; basic premise; something that should be obvious to all; something that should not have to be argued
great fortune; good luck; rice cake stuffed with bean jam
loud shout; excited cheering
very loud volume; megavolume
maximum; local maximum
massive failure; debacle; fiasco
nature; Mother Nature
bang on the money; spot on; right answer
battalion commander
completely satisfied; as pleased as can be
life-size; life-sized; true-to-life; faithful (depiction); realistic
big fan (of something or someone); great fan
the big two...; two major...; two main...
large-scale operation; large-scale campaign; major mission
major earthquake; large earthquake
excellent luck
extremely rich person; multimillionaire; billionaire; daifugō; daihinmin; Japanese card game similar to President
huge win; overwhelming victory
large statue of Buddha (trad. at least 4.8m high)
big hit; smash hit; popular item (e.g. movie, music)
(in) dire straits; (in a) serious bind; (in a) big pinch
scum of the earth; monster; fiend
great teacher (i.e. a buddha, bodhisattva or high monk, esp. Kobo Daishi)
breakthrough; great discovery
serious damage; injury or loss; heavy blow
great success; roaring business; busy; packed-out
the five elements (in Japanese philosophy: earth, water, fire, wind and void); five great wisdom kings
holding a sword above one's head (kendo posture); haughty attitude; overbearing manner
great teacher; great master; great author; great doctor
large stage; grand stage; the big stage; grand setting
large family; extended family
battalion; large force
loud sound; loud reverberation
(one's) father-in-law; (one's) employer; master; principal supporter of a temple; influential temple parishioner
to come to like a lot; to fall in love
thunderous roar of laughter (from multiple people); loud burst of laughter; explosive laughter
medical school
main street; avenue
big craze; boom; popular trend; widespread contagion; large outbreak
great tumult; great strife; big loud bang; bustle; dirdum; hell broken loose
metropolis; big city
large monster (Japanese film genre)
excessive; too much; unreasonable
complete agreement
great debt of gratitude; great obligation
very highly commended; highly lauded; very well-received; very popular
college of the arts; university of the arts; art university
someone who is greatly one's senior; veteran
women's college; women's university
uppercase letter; capital letter; large character; large writing; the (kanji) character "dai" meaning "big"; huge character "dai" formed by fires lit on the side of a mountain in Kyoto on August 16 each year
college of music
major war; great war; world war
big treat; great offer
dramatic turn-around; major reversal; great comeback; game changer
great plain; prairie; steppe; hahahaha; LMAO; ROFL
massacre; mass slaughter; genocide; holocaust
the six elements (earth, water, fire, wind, void, and consciousness)
junior college; vocationally oriented two or three year post-secondary education institution
macrocosmos; macrocosm; the universe; the cosmos
heavy flooding; disastrous flood; deluge; great flood (sent by a deity); flood myth
aorta; (fig.) important traffic route
denouement; ending; conclusion; (grand) finale
best friend; very close friend
serious accident; major incident
university of arts; arts college
Imperial General Headquarters (Japan)
rich person; millionaire; magnate; big spender; debauchee
to emphasize; to state emphatically; to speak loudly about; to raise one's voice; to lift one's voice
large intestine; large bowel; colon
large hospital; major hospital
the four elements (earth, water, fire, wind); the human body; Tao, heaven, earth and king
rave reviews; extremely high praise
shouting in a thunderous voice
big talk; braggadocio
strong opposition
commander-in-chief; generalissimo
large screen (TV, film, etc.)
excellent; very good; exultant; elated
great man; magnanimous man
terrible luck; very bad luck
great inconvenience; great deal of trouble; big nuisance; royal pain in the behind
Mahayana (Buddhism); the Great Vehicle; large passenger vehicle
educational facility established in affiliation with a government agency
large enterprise; big business; large undertaking
very big; very large; taking up a lot of space
pectoralis major muscle
great benefactor; person to whom one is greatly indebted
Mahavairocana (Tathagata); Great Sun; Supreme Buddha of Sino-Japanese esoteric Buddhism
black-bellied plover; grey plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
overriding principle; main principle; great principle
explosive increase (in number of pests); (severe) outbreak or upsurge of pests
great popularity; sensation; good reputation
great earthquake (disaster); Great Kanto earthquake of 1923
great love; passionate affair
crowd (e.g. of spectators); huge audience
university graduate; having graduated from university
general resemblance; being largely the same; uniting with a common goal; Daidō era (806.5.18-810.9.19)
to say it out loud; to yell out; to emphasize
archbishop (Orthodox, Anglican, etc.)
makeover; major change
supreme wisdom; sage
Dalian (China)
great virtue; virtuous priest; priest; rich person
(state of) utter panic; great panic
feces; excrement; stool
(gymnastical) giant swing; all-out effort; frenzied activity
big star; superstar
major volcanic eruption; large-scale eruption; violent eruption; great eruption
vast; huge; immense; malva nut (Sterculia lychnophora)
surprise victory; upset; coup
Age of Discovery; Age of Exploration
private university
lengthy (of a book, etc.); voluminous; most (e.g. most part); greater; fairly
growing old; old person
double extra-large; 2XL; XXL
lecture hall; lecture theatre; auditorium
major surgery; major operation
immense physical strength
high priest of a great shrine
large temple edifice; large temple
great writer; major writer
big thanks; great gratitude
daihinmin; daifugō; Japanese card game similar to President
ōshinbun; type of Meiji-era newspaper characterized by its use of political commentary written in literary language; major newspaper
Great Leap Forward (failed attempt to industrialize China and increase agricultural production, from 1958-1960); significant breakthrough; great strides
subserviency to the stronger
Summer Triangle (asterism)
great stature; large build
large tengu; powerful tengu; big braggart; blowhard
Sister (i.e. a nun; sometimes used as a posthumous suffix)
big athletic meet (esp. at school); sports day; field day
large circle; great circle
top-quality sake brewed from rice grains milled to 50% of weight or less
university student; college student
harangue; fervent speech
large encyclopedia
greater-than mark (>); right angle bracket
the Major Leagues; Major League Baseball; MLB
national university
university or college offering four-year programs; the big four ...; the four major ...
large, medium and small (businesses, rooms, etc.)
large monk; large, bald man; big baldy; large, bald-headed monster
large amount of capital; large-cap; big-cap
major change; major transformation
great disaster; calamity
old-fashioned; antiquated; anachronistic
large dictionary; comprehensive dictionary; unabridged dictionary
scum of the earth; monster; fiend
High Priest (of Israel)
edifice; monumental architecture; huge building
Greater East Asian War (1941-1945); Pacific War
essentially the same with only minor differences
coarse; rough; bulky
big splash; big response; major repercussions
broad policy; overriding principle
large beer mug
the greater embraces the less; better too big than too small
major air raid; blitz
colorectal cancer; large bowel cancer
colorectal cancer; large bowel cancer
full court; grand bench of the supreme court
realization of a great ambition; realisation of a great ambition
large-scale maneuvers; large-scale manoeuvres; war games
revolution; cataclysm; drastic change
great scholar; savant; polymath
agricultural university
director of a district (ritsuryo system)
the Grand Shrine at Ise
small; tiny; (lit.) size of a palm
major progress; huge advance
great and small; in detail; all
large; big; grown (man, etc.); great (friend, etc.); huge (football fan, etc.)
greater omentum; caul
university festival; rag day
big match; big game; important match; important game
head temple of a Buddhist sect
lofty; grand; impressive; high school and university
major recession; serious (economic) depression; Great Depression
fairness; justice
greater metropolitan area; megalopolis; conurbation
Great Bodhisattva Hachiman (title of Hachiman due to Shinto-Buddhist syncretism)
(China's) Cultural Revolution (1966-76)
atrocity; outrage; heinousness
actual size; full size
technical college
Military Staff College
patient in a serious condition; serious case
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
great man; fine figure of a man
private university
the whole universe (of a billion worlds) that Buddha enlightened
commercial college
Winter Triangle (asterism)
hard-to-get-into university; elite university; highly-selective university
greater palace; area centered on the inner palace, home to various administrative bodies
major-leaguer; member of a major-league team
former central university of Kyoto (established under the ritsuryo system for the training of government administrators)
immense; enormous
Völkerwanderung; great migration in Europe, 4th to 6th century CE
daini (type of playing cards)
Daijirin (Japanese dictionary published by Sanseido)
large rock; huge rock; being rock-solid; holding firm; being adamant
resolute decision
big three dragons; winning hand consisting of pungs or kongs of each of the three types of dragon tiles
The Eight Greater Hells
O Great God of Arms, I beseech your aid against my enemy!
(time of) extreme cold; "major cold" solar term (approx. January 20, roughly the coldest time of the year)
heavy damage; great harm
university graduate; college graduate
complete freedom; great freedom; great unhinderedness
great debate; great controversy
large-scale (mechanized, mechanised) farming; wealthy farmer
to achieve greatness; to achieve success
large and wide
giant catfish (mythological being thought to cause earthquakes)
the Tripitaka (complete Buddhist canon)
business-card size
big goof; serious mistake
Great Patriotic War (Russian name for the war along the eastern front during World War II)
the ten great disciples (of Buddha)
big family principle; extended family policy
Spring Triangle (asterism)
Socialist Masses Party
large feast; big meal
something of the same size; the said university
throwing one's weight around without knowing one's limitations; (lit.) Yelang thinks too highly of itself
(arch.) great impropriety (esp. towards the imperial family); crime against the imperial family (or a shrine dedicated to them, etc.)
toilet (for defecating)
Great Awakening (18th century American Christian revival movement)
supreme wisdom; sage
adarsa-jnana (great-perfect-mirror wisdom, wisdom clearly elucidating all things)
main telephone number
great teachings (of the Buddha); teachings of the Mahayana; most important ritual (in esoteric Buddhism)
(one's) father-in-law; (one's) employer; master; principal supporter of a temple; influential temple parishioner
Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra
grand kagura performance at Ise; type of performance including the lion dance and juggling; Camellia japonica 'Daikagura' (cultivar of Japanese camellia)
large rock; huge rock; being rock-solid; holding firm; being adamant
Great Britain (island)
Mahesvara (Shiva in the Buddhist pantheon)
main (switchboard) number; main telephone (phone) number
major religion; great religion
grand champion considered to be truly great, usually with over 10 makuuchi tournament wins
Yamantaka Vidya-raja; conqueror of Death
exerting oneself to the utmost, prepared to die if necessary
great; immense
exceptionally large
to say it out loud; to yell out; to emphasize
giant catfish (mythological being thought to cause earthquakes)
university of foreign studies; university specializing in foreign languages
megacompetition; mega-competition
Mahāraurava; The Hell of Great Wailing; The Great Screaming Hell; the fifth of eight hot hells in Buddhism
grand coalition; grand alliance
Mahasamghika (early Buddhist movement)
large feast; big meal
loudly reciting Amithaba's name
feces; excrement; large effect
very auspicious day
major planet; giant planet; Jovian planet
psoas major muscle
turning a concealed pung into an open kong by calling another player's discard
great mandala (in Shingon); mandala with an image of each deity
position at the imperial court in ancient China
Daewongun (honorary title for the father of the king in Joseon-era Korea; esp. in ref. to Heungseon Daewongun, father of Emperor Gojong)
Indian Mutiny (1857-1858)
colorectal cancer; large bowel cancer
large feast; big meal
postcard size
double size
star anise (Illicium verum)
Great Interregnum (gap between Hohenstaufen and Habsburg rule of the Holy Roman Empire, approx. 1254-1273 CE)
supreme order (i.e. of the chrysanthemum); highest possible order of merit
the seven great temples of Nara (Daian-ji, Gango-ji, Horyu-ji, Kofuku-ji, Saidai-ji, Todai-ji, Yakushi-ji)
macrocyclic; large ring
grand mal (seizure)
great (white) egret
past perfect tense; pluperfect
tea prepared for the New Year with the first water of the year
the great municipal mergers of the Heisei era; series of large-scale municipal mergers carried out between 1995 and 2010 under the temporary Special Mergers Law
Great Qing Empire (China, 1644-1912); Qing dynasty
systemic circulation; general circulation (of the atmosphere)
Dai Kanwa Jiten (major Kanji Dictionary, edited by Morohashi Tetsuji)
swallowing a great amount of tea or medicine; tea prepared for the New Year with the first water of the year
university graduate
large deformation
Large-scale Retail Stores Law
being bold and courageous, but also careful and meticulous
electoral system allowing for the election of multiple candidates from one district; multi-member constituent electoral system
public university
big goof; serious mistake
greater trochanter; trochanter major
kanji "big" radical at top
second anniversary of a person's death
last session (trading day, trading) of the year
far-reaching amendment; significant revision
master; grandmaster; senior instructor
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun
great six-syllable mantra ("om mani padme hum")
Great Britain (island)
Great Britain (island)
Indian Mutiny (1857-1858)
large seal script (dating from China's Spring and Autumn period onward)
tea prepared for the New Year with the first water of the year
grand kagura performance at Ise
square brackets
square brackets
large lot (manufacture); big lot
school of kowakamai dance founded by Yamamoto Sirozaemon
seven boarding schools established in Kyoto by noble families during the early Heian period
first session (trading day) of the year
Osaka Securities Exchange
large character; alternative kanji used for numbers (esp. in financial contexts)
Large Magellanic Cloud (galaxy)
eight great wisdom kings (Acala, Kundali, Mezu, Munosho, Trilokavijaya, Ucchusma, Vajrayaksa, Yamantaka)
large storage space
university of technology; science and technology college
the seven continents
the seven continents
Habenaria dentata (species of bog orchid)
the seven continents
the seven continents
Kannon of Great Mercy (alt. name for Avalokiteshvara); Greatly Compassionate Kannon; Daihi Kannon
square brackets
mass storage control system; MSCS
Manchukuo dialect; Greater East Asian dialect
Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown
Mahavairocana Sutra; Mahavairocana Tantra
greater sand plover (Charadrius leschenaultii)
lesser sand plover (Charadrius mongolus)
Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata)
Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata)
grown-up woman; adult woman
bench used by the Emperor
large shaku (approx. 35.6cm)
distinguished scholar; holder of a higher doctorate
Examples (53 in total)
Large or small?
I hate dancing.
I hate Christmas.