How to say "vast" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 広いひろいi-adjectiveCovers the everyday sense of 'vast' as wide or spacious — a room, a garden, a country with open land. It is the plain, most common choice when you mean an area feels large and unconfined.
- 広大こうだいna-adjective, nounDescribes 'vast' or 'immense' expanse of land, sea, or territory. It is more formal and literary than 広い, fitting when you want to emphasize a sweeping, extensive scale rather than everyday spaciousness.
- 莫大ばくだいna-adjectiveFor 'vast' in the sense of an enormous amount — typically money, costs, or profits. It applies to quantities that are immense in size or value, not to physical spaces.
- 膨大ぼうだいna-adjectiveFor 'vast' or 'enormous' quantities of countable or measurable things — data, work, numbers of items. It suggests a bulk so large it feels overwhelming, and does not describe open space.
- 大だいprefix, na-adjective, nounRarely the word you want for 'vast'; it really means 'large', 'big', or 'great' and works chiefly as a prefix. Treat 'vast' as only a marginal gloss — reach for one of the other entries instead.
Use 「広い」 for physically wide or spacious spaces, 広大 for expansively large areas, 莫大 for vast amounts of money or numbers, 膨大 for enormous quantities of data or work, and 大 only as a prefix meaning 'great'.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
- 広いひろいspacious
- 広大こうだいvast
- 莫大ばくだいvast
- 膨大ぼうだいhuge
- 大だいlarge
- おびただしいlarge number
- ぼうぼうvast (ocean, desert, etc.)
- 茫漠ぼうばくvast
- 広漠こうばくvast
- 茫洋ぼうようvast
- 漫々まんまんvast
- 渺茫びょうぼうvast
- 空漠くうばくvast
- 漠々ばくばくvast
- 空々漠々くうくうばくばくvast
- 蕩々とうとうvast
- 溶溶ようようvast
- 洋々ようようbroad
- 渺々びょうびょうboundless
- 縹渺ひょうびょうboundless
- 広大無辺こうだいむへんboundless
- 広しひろしspacious
- 曠然こうぜんextensive
- すごいto a great extent
- すっごいto a great extent
- 漠ばくvast
See also
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