"This room is small."
Translation:この部屋は狭いです。
38 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
1286
When you refer to the size of a space, you use semai/hiroi, so this sentence is correct.
It's not about what you think is appropriate when you translate it into English. It's about what's appropriate when you speak Japanese. せまい and ひろい don't just translate in "narrow" and "wide." It's closer to the idea of being "narrow" or "tight" and "wide" or "spacious" referring to an area. Therefore, when referring to the size of a room, you would use せまい or ひろい. When referring to the size of a particular object, then you would then use 小さい or 大き.
狭い is the correct word for something describing space, as opposed to size.
There is a delightful idiom, "neko no hitai" – 猫の額 - a cat's forehead - for something very small. Or as a Japanese acquaintance used to say "cat's foreheads are very narrow". The idiom is a pun between the kanji and the sound vs that of 狭い.
1286
室 is not used by itself, but it means room in conjunction with other kanji. 教室 きょうしつ for example is classroom. 職員室 しょくいんしつ means staff room.
1286
You could use 小さい to describe a room in a dollhouse, but for a room that you are physically occupying, it's 狭い.
1010
I used お部屋 instead of 部屋 and it was incorrect, so do we use the honorific only when directky talking to someone or is there more to it?
1286
No, I think that's 小さい in both cases. 狭い is more for a space that you are occupying. "Cramped" is a good English equivalent. So if the box was larger and you were inside it in a fetal position, then 狭い would be suitable.