Use 大丈夫 for reassurance that everything is fine.
Use 大丈夫 for reassurance that everything is fine.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| 大丈夫が好きです。 | 大丈夫です。 |
| 大丈夫か？ | 大丈夫ですか？ |
| 大丈夫な場所は危ない。 | 安全な場所は危ない。 |
| 彼は大丈夫です。 | 彼は大丈夫だ。 |
Use 大丈夫 when referring to a strong, respectable man in literary or historical contexts.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| 大丈夫は安全です。 | 大丈夫は強い男です。 |
| 大丈夫が好きです。 | 大丈夫な人が好きです。 |
| 大丈夫ですか？ | 大丈夫だ。 |
| 大丈夫は何ですか？ | 大丈夫とは、立派な男のことです。 |
Choose 大丈夫 for reassurance when meaning ‘okay’, and for the literary sense of a strong, respectable man, depending on context.
Using 大丈夫 to answer a health question can be confused with the older ‘strong man’ sense, leading to misinterpretation.
From Classical Chinese 大丈夫 ‘great man’, originally describing a robust adult male; in Japanese it later acquired the colloquial sense ‘all right’ used for reassurance.
What does 大丈夫 mean in everyday conversation?
大丈夫 is used to say ‘okay’, ‘all right’, or ‘no problem’.
Can 大丈夫 be used to describe a person?
Yes, in a literary or historical context it refers to a strong, respectable man.
Is 大丈夫 polite?
The phrase 大丈夫です is the polite form; 大丈夫 alone is casual.
How do you ask if someone is okay using 大丈夫?
Say 大丈夫ですか?
What is the opposite of 大丈夫?
Common opposites are だめ, 危険, or 問題.
Does 大丈夫 have a noun form?
In the literary sense it functions as a noun meaning ‘a strong man’.
Can 大丈夫 be used in writing?
Yes, it appears in both informal speech and formal literature, with the appropriate sense.
Is there a difference between 大丈夫 and 平気?
平気 also means ‘fine’, but 大丈夫 is more commonly used for reassurance.
How is 大丈夫 pronounced?
It is pronounced daijōbu (/daijobɯ/).
What is the origin of 大丈夫?
It comes from Chinese 大丈夫 ‘great man’, later adopted in Japanese with the added sense of ‘all right’.