久しい|ひさしいhisashii[3]nakadaka (mid-high)

JLPT N1approx.Common
Definitions
  1. i-adjectivelong (time that has passed); old (story)
    驕おごる平家へいけは久ひさししからず。↗
    Pride will have a fall.
Conjugation
Plain form久しい(ひさしい)
Polite (desu)久しいです(ひさしいです)
Negative (kunai)久しくない(ひさしくない)
polite (ku arimasen)久しくありません(ひさしくありません)
Past (katta)久しかった(ひさしかった)
Past negative (kunakatta)久しくなかった(ひさしくなかった)
Te form (kute)久しくて(ひさしくて)
Adverbial (ku)久しく(ひさしく)
Conditional (kereba)久しければ(ひさしければ)
kattara久しかったら(ひさしかったら)

Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.

Synonyms & antonyms
  • Related長いながいNeutralThe most general word for long: it covers both distance and time, as in 「長い時間」, while 「久しい」 refers only to time having passed.
  • RelatedとこしえWrittenWritten word for eternity, with a literary flavor, as in 「とこしえの愛」; 「久しい」 says only that a long time has passed.
  • Related常しなえとこしなえWrittenWritten word meaning eternity, synonymous with 「とこしえ」 but more archaic in tone.
  • Related長期にわたるちょうきにわたるNeutralSet phrase for something continuing over a long period, as in 「長期にわたる交渉」; frequent in news writing.
  • Antonym近頃ちかごろNeutralMeans lately or recently, the opposite of the long-ago sense of 「久しい」.
  • Antonymつい先日NeutralMeans just the other day, the opposite of the long stretch of time suggested by 「久しい」.

Use 「久しい」 when a long time has passed since some point, as in 「久しく会っていない」 or 「お久しぶり」. For the general sense of long, say 「長い」; for continuing over a long period, 「長期にわたる」; for eternity, 「とこしえ」. The opposite is 「近頃」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

Japanese definitions
  1. 長ながい時間じかんが経過けいかした。
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also

JLPT vocabulary levels are community estimates, not official (no official lists have been published since the 2010 revision).

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