Learn Japanese while reading Manga with our new Manga Reader Tool!

Nihongo

Classroom

How to say 'Difficult' or 'Serious' in Japanese | 大変

Wondering how to say 'Difficult' or 'Serious' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Difficult or Serious is 'Taihen', written as 大変 in Japanese.'Difficult' or 'Serious' in hiragana is たいへん.

    word

    大変

    Meaning

    Difficult, Serious

    Reading

    たいへん

    taihen

    Kanji

    大Big 変Change, Abnormal

    Explanation

    The Japanese adjectival noun '大変 (たいへん)' can mean 'difficult' or 'serious', depending on the context. When used to describe a situation or task, it conveys that something is challenging or troublesome. For example: This work is difficult「この仕事は大変だ」(このしごとはたいへんだ). When used to describe a situation or event, it can mean 'serious' or 'grave'. For example: This is a serious problem「これは大変な問題だ」(これはたいへんなもんだいだ). Additionally, '大変' can also be used as an adverb to mean 'very' or 'greatly', but this usage is separate from its adjectival noun form. For example: I am very tired「私は大変疲れた」(わたしはたいへんつかれた).

    Part Of Speech

    adjectival noun

    Kanji JLPT

    N3

    Kanji Grade

    4

    Frequency

    563

    Composition

    kanji

    Handwriting

Kanji in the Word 大変

This word contains 2 kanji characters:

  • kanji

    大

    Meaning

    Big

  • kanji

    変

    Meaning

    Change, Abnormal

Words Related to 大変 Through the Kanji 大

These 73 Words contain the Kanji 大 as well.

  • word

    大好き

    Meaning

    Love

  • word

    大きい

    Meaning

    Big

  • word

    大学生

    Meaning

    Student

  • word

    大きな

    Meaning

    Big

  • word

    大学

    Meaning

    University

  • word

    大きさ

    Meaning

    Size

  • word

    大切

    Meaning

    Important

  • word

    大丈夫

    Meaning

    Okay

  • word

    大事

    Meaning

    Important, Precious

  • word

    最大

    Meaning

    Maximum

  • word

    大使館

    Meaning

    Embassy

  • word

    大学院

    Meaning

    Graduate school

  • word

    拡大

    Meaning

    Expansion, Magnification

  • word

    大臣

    Meaning

    Minister

  • word

    大幅

    Meaning

    Greatly

  • word

    大量

    Meaning

    Large quantity

  • word

    大嫌い

    Meaning

    Hate

  • word

    巨大

    Meaning

    Huge

  • word

    大抵

    Meaning

    Usually

  • word

    大げさ

    Meaning

    Exaggerated

  • word

    大水

    Meaning

    Flood

  • word

    大統領

    Meaning

    President

  • word

    大人

    Meaning

    Adult

  • word

    大家

    Meaning

    Landlord

  • word

    大雨

    Meaning

    Heavy rain

  • word

    大雪

    Meaning

    Heavy snow

  • word

    大通り

    Meaning

    Avenue

  • word

    重大

    Meaning

    Serious

  • word

    大戦

    Meaning

    Great war

  • word

    大いに

    Meaning

    Greatly

  • word

    大急ぎ

    Meaning

    Hurry

  • word

    大型

    Meaning

    Large

  • word

    大勢

    Meaning

    Crowd

  • word

    大陸

    Meaning

    Continent

  • word

    大手

    Meaning

    Front, Major

  • word

    大声

    Meaning

    Loud voice

  • word

    大した

    Meaning

    Great, Not much

  • word

    大会

    Meaning

    Tournament

  • word

    大衆

    Meaning

    Masses

  • word

    大使

    Meaning

    Ambassador

  • word

    大半

    Meaning

    Majority

  • word

    大蔵省

    Meaning

    Finance ministry

  • word

    大名

    Meaning

    Feudal lord

  • word

    大喜び

    Meaning

    Delight

  • word

    大分

    Meaning

    Considerably

  • word

    偉大

    Meaning

    Great

  • word

    大麦

    Meaning

    Barley

  • word

    大根

    Meaning

    Radish

  • word

    大将

    Meaning

    General, Boss

  • word

    大金

    Meaning

    Large amount of money

  • word

    大

    Meaning

    Big

  • word

    大小

    Meaning

    Size, Importance

  • word

    大体

    Meaning

    Mostly

  • word

    大して

    Meaning

    Not much

  • word

    大人しい

    Meaning

    Quiet

  • word

    大地

    Meaning

    Earth

  • word

    大工

    Meaning

    Carpenter

  • word

    短大

    Meaning

    Junior college

  • word

    大部分

    Meaning

    Majority

  • word

    大便

    Meaning

    Feces

  • word

    短期大学

    Meaning

    Junior college

  • word

    増大

    Meaning

    Increase

  • word

    膨大

    Meaning

    Vast, Enormous

  • word

    大豆

    Meaning

    Soybean

  • word

    広大

    Meaning

    Vast

  • word

    大国

    Meaning

    Power, Nation

  • word

    大胆

    Meaning

    Daring, Bold

  • word

    大さじ

    Meaning

    Tablespoon

  • word

    大概

    Meaning

    Mostly

  • word

    大王

    Meaning

    King

  • word

    大層

    Meaning

    Very

  • word

    総理大臣

    Meaning

    Prime Minister

  • word

    雄大

    Meaning

    Grand

Words Related to 大変 Through the Kanji 変

These 11 Words contain the Kanji 変 as well.

  • word

    変わる

    Meaning

    Change

  • word

    変える

    Meaning

    Change

  • word

    変

    Meaning

    Strange

  • word

    変化

    Meaning

    Change, Variation

  • word

    相変わらず

    Meaning

    As usual

  • word

    変動

    Meaning

    Change, Fluctuation

  • word

    変わり

    Meaning

    Change

  • word

    変革

    Meaning

    Reform

  • word

    変更

    Meaning

    Change

  • word

    変換

    Meaning

    Conversion, Transformation

  • word

    変数

    Meaning

    Variable

Learn the Word 大変

Let's make sure you fully understand this word.

What does 'Taihen' (大変) mean?

'Taihen' means 'Difficult' or 'Serious' .

To help you master this word, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.