Word
Kana: きゅうげき Romaji: kyuugeki Level: N3

急激

Meaning in English

sudden, rapid, sharp

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Word context

What it means

急激 means occurring very quickly or abruptly; it describes a rapid, drastic change or increase in degree, rate, or intensity, typically used for dynamic processes and in formal, technical contexts.

Main meanings

  • Rapid or drastic change in degree or pace
  • Used before a noun with the な-form as 急激なX to modify it
  • Common in scientific, economic, and news contexts to describe abrupt developments

How to use it

In usage, 急激 is used to describe swift changes in quantities or rates, such as temperature, prices, or levels of growth or intensity; it's formal and common in technical writing, journalism, and policy discussions; it attaches to nouns through the な-form as 急激な変化, 急激な増加, etc.

Variants and close terms

  • 急速な (kyuusoku na) — rapid, swift
  • 突然の (totsuzun no) — sudden, abrupt
  • 劇的な (geki-teki na) — dramatic, striking
  • 漸進的な (zenshin-teki na) — gradual; opposite nuance

Composition

  • 急: fast, urgent
  • 激: intense, fierce

Etymology

急 on-reading kyuu; 激 on-reading geki; A Sino-Japanese compound formed from two on-yomi kanji that together convey a sense of speed and intensity, yielding a word read kyuugeki.

Word class

adjective (na-adjective, 形容動詞)

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