甘い (amai) means “sweet” in taste and can also mean “lenient” or “naive.” It can describe a sweet smell, a person who is soft on someone, or a plan whose assumptions are too optimistic. 甘口 is mild or sweet, contrasting with 辛口 in food, drink, and judgments.
also amai / amakatta / 甘やかす / 甘口
sweet · lenient, soft on someone · naive, wishful
Sentences
6 sentences, word by word
甘い · taste
polite
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
この
この
this
demonstrative · attaches directly to a noun
Ask Rikai
ケーキ
ケーキ
cake
noun · loanword
Ask Rikai
は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
Ask Rikai
ちょっと
ちょっと
a little; a bit too
adverb · softens a complaint into an observation
Ask Rikai
甘い
あまい ［0］
sweet
い-adjective · the literal sense
甘いN5sweet · lenient · naive
Ask Rikai
です
です
polite copula
copula · い-adjectives take です without だ
Ask Rikai
This cake is a little too sweet.
自分に甘い · soft on yourself
plain
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
彼
かれ ［1］
he; him
pronoun · third person
Ask Rikai
は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
Ask Rikai
自分
じぶん ［0］
oneself; himself
reflexive noun · takes whoever the subject is
Ask Rikai
に
に
toward; when it comes to
particle · marks who the leniency is aimed at
Ask Rikai
甘い
あまい ［0］
soft; lenient
い-adjective · the leniency sense, and a criticism here
甘いN5lenient · sweet · naive
Ask Rikai
He goes easy on himself.
考えが甘い · naive
plain
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
その
その
that — the one you just described
demonstrative · その points at something the listener owns or said
Ask Rikai
考え
かんがえ ［3］
thinking; the idea
noun from 考える · a view or a plan
Ask Rikai
は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
Ask Rikai
甘い
あまい ［0］
naive; not thought through
い-adjective · the naive sense, aimed at the plan not the person
甘いN5naive · sweet · lenient
Ask Rikai
と
と
quotative — that
particle · marks the content of thinking or saying
Ask Rikai
思う
おもう ［2］
I think
verb · softens a verdict into an opinion
Ask Rikai
Your thinking is too optimistic.
子供に甘い · indulgent
plain past
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
祖父
そふ ［1］
my grandfather
noun · the humble word for your own; おじいさん for someone else's
Ask Rikai
は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
Ask Rikai
孫
まご ［2］
grandchild
noun · no separate word for grandson and granddaughter
Ask Rikai
に
に
toward
particle · marks who received the indulgence
Ask Rikai
甘かった
あまかった
was soft
past of 甘い · い-adjectives make past with かった
甘いN5lenient · sweet · naive
Ask Rikai
My grandfather was soft on the grandchildren.
甘い匂い · a sweet smell
plain
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
台所
だいどころ ［0］
kitchen
noun · キッチン is the everyday loanword alternative
Ask Rikai
から
から
from
particle · the origin of movement
Ask Rikai
甘い
あまい ［0］
sweet
い-adjective attributive · Japanese applies it to smells freely
甘いN5sweet · lenient · naive
Ask Rikai
匂い
におい ［2］
smell; scent
noun · neutral, though 臭い is the bad-smell spelling
Ask Rikai
が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
Ask Rikai
してきた
してきた
came drifting; started to be there
匂いがする ＋ てくる · the てくる brings it toward the speaker
Ask Rikai
A sweet smell drifted in from the kitchen.
甘やかす · spoiling someone
plain
。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
子供
こども ［0］
child; the kid
noun · also used loosely of anyone acting childish
Ask Rikai
を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
Ask Rikai
あまり
あまり
too much — with a negative
adverb · pairs with a negative ending later in the sentence
Ask Rikai
甘やかす
あまやかす ［4］
spoil; indulge
transitive verb from 甘い · what an 甘い parent does
甘やかすN2to spoil someone
Ask Rikai
な
な
don't
particle · the blunt prohibition on plain form
Ask Rikai
Don't spoil the kid too much.
Forms
What does 甘い attach to?
Food ＋ は＋甘い
このケーキは甘い. The literal sense, and the only one that is purely descriptive rather than a judgement.
Person ＋ に＋甘い
子供に甘い. Soft on someone — the に marks who benefits from the softness, and 自分に甘い turns it on yourself.
Plan / estimate ＋ が＋甘い
考えが甘い. Naive. Aimed at thinking rather than at a person, which is what makes it usable at work without starting a fight.
甘い＋Noun
甘い匂い, 甘い言葉. Straight onto the noun. 甘い言葉 is sweet talk, and it is rarely a compliment.
Meaning
The three 甘い — sweet, soft, naive
The taste sense is the easy one: sugar, fruit, mild curry, sweet sake. Note that Japanese also calls a smell 甘い — 甘い香り, a sweet scent — which English allows but reaches for less often.
Soft on someone is the sense that appears in daily life most.子供に甘い is a parent who never says no, 自分に甘い is someone who lets themselves off, 採点が甘い is generous marking. Whether it is a criticism depends entirely on who is being soft and on what — about a grandparent it is fond, about a manager it is not.
Naive is the sharpest of the three.考えが甘い and 見通しが甘い say your plan assumed things would go well and they will not. It stings because it does not accuse you of being wrong on the facts, only of not having thought hard enough — which is harder to argue with.
Watch the pairs.甘い is the standing opposite of 辛い in taste (甘口 / 辛口) and in judgement (採点が甘い / 辛い), and the opposite of 厳しい when it is about people. Learning it against its opposite is faster than learning the three senses separately.
Inside the kanji
甘 — sweetness in the mouth
甘 — a mouth with something held in it
The character is a pictograph of a mouth with a mark inside — something being savoured. Its on reading カン gives you 甘露 nectar and 甘味 sweetness, while the kun あま runs through everything from 甘み to 甘えん坊.
The あま family
One root, several words worth learning together: 甘い sweet, 甘える to lean on someone's affection, 甘やかす to spoil, 甘え the dependence itself. The last is famous — psychiatrist Doi Takeo built a well-known book about Japanese social psychology on it.
Why sweet came to mean lenient
The metaphor is about hardness, not sugar. Something 甘い has not been tightened enough — a screw, a rule, an estimate. Japanese uses it that way literally too: ネジが甘い, the screw is loose. Soft parenting and soft planning are the same complaint.
Watch out
Where 甘い goes wrong
Hearing only “sweet”
君は甘い is not a compliment about your personality being lovely — it means you are soft, or naive. Outside of food and smells, assume 甘い is a judgement about something not being rigorous enough.
Confusing 甘やかす with 甘える
甘やかす is what the indulgent person does; 甘える is what the indulged person does. 親が子供を甘やかす, 子供が親に甘える. Swap them and you have reversed who is being looked after.
Using 甘い言葉 as a compliment
甘い言葉 is sweet talk in the suspicious sense — the flattery of a salesman or someone with a motive. If you mean kind words, 優しい言葉 is the phrase you want.
Also asked
Questions people ask about 甘い
What does 甘い mean besides sweet?
Two things. Soft on someone — 子供に甘い, indulgent toward a child. And naive — 考えが甘い, a plan that assumed everything would go right. Both come from the idea of something not having been tightened enough.
Is calling someone 甘い an insult?
Usually mild criticism rather than an insult. About a grandparent it is fond; about a colleague's estimate it is pointed; about someone's attitude to their own work — 自分に甘い — it is genuinely critical.
甘やかす or 甘える — which is which?
甘やかす is transitive: you spoil someone. 甘える is intransitive: you lean on someone's affection. The parent 甘やかす, the child 甘える.
What does 考えが甘い mean exactly?
Your thinking is too optimistic — you have not allowed for what could go wrong. It is a common workplace phrase about plans, budgets and schedules, and it criticises the rigour of the thinking rather than the person doing it, which is why it is sayable at all.
甘口 or 辛口 — what do they mean?
They pair across three domains. Curry: mild or hot. Sake and wine: sweet or dry. A review or a critic: soft or blunt. 辛口の批評家 is someone who does not pull punches, and 甘口 is the reviewer who likes everything.
Can a smell be 甘い in Japanese?
Yes, and it is completely ordinary — 甘い香り, a sweet scent. Japanese extends taste vocabulary to smell more readily than English does, which is why perfume, flowers and baking all take 甘い without sounding poetic.
