丈夫
じょうぶ
joubu
= sturdy, durable, tough (of objects); healthy, robust (of people)
丈夫 (joubu) is the word Japanese speakers reach for when something refuses to break – a bag, a body, or anything built to last. It’s also the root of a much more famous word, daijoubu (大丈夫), which looks almost identical but means something completely different: okay, all right, safe.
丈夫 (joubu) covers two related ideas. First, for objects: strong, durable, well-made – a joubu na kaban (丈夫な鞄) is a sturdy bag that can take a beating, and joubu na kiji (丈夫な生地) is tough, hard-wearing fabric. Second, for people: physically healthy, robust, rarely sick – karada ga joubu (体が丈夫) means someone has a strong constitution, and a joubu na ko (丈夫な子) is a healthy, sturdy child. As a na-adjective, it conjugates as joubu na before a noun and joubu de when linking clauses. The key trap for learners: 大丈夫 (daijoubu) is literally dai (big) plus 丈夫, and while it once carried a sense of extremely sturdy, its meaning has drifted to fine, okay, no problem – it no longer means sturdy or healthy. 丈夫 by itself never means okay. A near-synonym for the health sense is 達者 (tassha), also meaning healthy or robust, though it’s less common in daily speech than 丈夫.
Don’t confuse 丈夫 (joubu, sturdy/healthy) with 大丈夫 (daijoubu, okay/all right) – they share the same 丈夫 kanji but are separate words with separate meanings. As a na-adjective, remember the two forms: joubu na plus noun (丈夫な鞄) and joubu de to connect to the next clause (丈夫で長持ちします, sturdy and long-lasting). Karada ga joubu (体が丈夫) is the standard way to say someone is physically healthy or has a strong constitution. Joubu ni dekiteiru (丈夫にできている) means something is built to last or well-constructed. Never use 丈夫 alone to mean okay – that mix-up instantly signals confusion with 大丈夫.
Everyday use
この鞄はとても丈夫で、10年使っても壊れません。
Kono kaban wa totemo joubu de, juunen tsukattemo kowaremasen.
This bag is so sturdy that it hasn’t broken even after ten years of use.
Casual / Social Media
うちのおじいちゃん、90歳なのにまだ丈夫で毎日散歩してるよ。
Uchi no ojiichan, kyuujussai nanoni mada joubu de mainichi sanpo shiteru yo.
My grandpa is 90 but still so healthy – he goes for a walk every single day.
Formal / Cultural context
技術者は、橋は丈夫な設計なので大丈夫だと説明した。
Gijutsusha wa, hashi wa joubu na sekkei nanode daijoubu da to setsumei shita.
The engineer explained that the bridge has a sturdy design, so it is safe (daijoubu).
For learners, 丈夫 and 大丈夫 are a classic source of confusion because 大丈夫 looks like it should just be an intensified version of 丈夫 (big plus sturdy), yet in modern Japanese it means something else entirely: okay, safe, no problem. Historically, 大丈夫 did carry a sense of extremely solid or dependable, which is how it drifted toward all right, you can count on it – but that original sturdy meaning has faded from everyday use, surviving only in 丈夫 itself. A handy memory aid: 丈夫 stays literal (sturdy or healthy), while 大丈夫 has gone abstract (fine, safe) – if you mean okay, you always need the dai.
丈夫 also carries cultural weight beyond vocabulary: a robust, illness-resistant body (丈夫な体) is something Japanese families and communities openly wish for one another, especially for children and the elderly. It shows up in common well-wishes like お体を大切に (please take care of your health) and in the way grandparents are praised for still being 丈夫 well into old age. Because childhood illness and physical labor once made durability a real concern, calling someone 丈夫 was never just small talk – it reflected genuine care for their long-term wellbeing.