思しい

Japanese

Kanji in this term
思
おぼ Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
覚しい (rare)

Etymology

/omoposi/ → */omobosi/ → */oɴbosi/ → /obosi/ → /obosiː/

Shift from Old Japanese おもほし (omo₂posi, “hoped for, desirable”), adjective derived from おもふ (omo₂pu, “to think about, to imagine, to have in mind”).^[1]^[2]^[3] See also partial synonym and cognate 思わしい (omowashii).

First attested in the 竹取物語 (Taketori Monogatari, “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter”) of the late 800s, early 900s.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) おぼしい [òbóshíꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])^[3]
IPA^(key): [o̞bo̞ɕiː]

Adjective

思(おぼ)しい • (oboshii) -i (adverbial 思(おぼ)しく (oboshiku))

[from circa 900] (literary) apparent, thought to be, seeming to be
六十代(ろくじゅうだい)と思(おぼ)しい人(ひと)
rokujūdai to oboshii hito
a person apparently in their sixties
[from 974] (literary) wanted, desired, hoped for
極(きわ)めて思(おぼ)しい事(こと)
kiwamete oboshii koto
a thing fervently desired

Usage notes

Still commonly appears with the Classical 連体形 (rentaikei, “attributive form”) ending 〜き, namely as 思しき.

Inflection

Inflection of **思しい**
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	思しかろ	おぼしかろ	oboshikaro
Continuative (連用形)	思しく	おぼしく	oboshiku
Terminal (終止形)	思しい	おぼしい	oboshii
Attributive (連体形)	思しい	おぼしい	oboshii
Hypothetical (仮定形)	思しけれ	おぼしけれ	oboshikere
Imperative (命令形)	思しかれ	おぼしかれ	oboshikare
Key constructions
Informal negative	思しくない	おぼしくない	oboshiku nai
Informal past	思しかった	おぼしかった	oboshikatta
Informal negative past	思しくなかった	おぼしくなかった	oboshiku nakatta
Formal	思しいです	おぼしいです	oboshii desu
Formal negative	思しくないです	おぼしくないです	oboshiku nai desu
Formal past	思しかったです	おぼしかったです	oboshikatta desu
Formal negative past	思しくなかったです	おぼしくなかったです	oboshiku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	思しくて	おぼしくて	oboshikute
Conditional	思しければ	おぼしければ	oboshikereba
Provisional	思しかったら	おぼしかったら	oboshikattara
Volitional	思しかろう	おぼしかろう	oboshikarō
Adverbial	思しく	おぼしく	oboshiku
Degree	思しさ	おぼしさ	oboshisa

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 “思・覚”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ “思しい”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

“^△思しい”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[3] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

[KDJ2-1] 1.0 ^1.1 “思・覚”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[DDJS-2] “思しい”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months

[DJR-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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