強い
つよい
tsuyoi
= strong / powerful / tough / resistant
Tsuyoi is the Japanese word for ‘strong,’ but its range goes far beyond physical strength — it describes emotional resilience, alcohol tolerance, resistance to cold, and the overwhelming power of a skilled opponent. Understanding tsuyoi means understanding how Japanese speakers map the concept of strength across physical, mental, and situational domains.
Tsuyoi (強い) is an i-adjective meaning ‘strong,’ ‘powerful,’ ‘tough,’ or ‘resistant.’ It applies across a wide range of contexts: a tsuyoi hito (強い人) can mean a physically strong person, an emotionally resilient person, or simply someone who is very good at something. Tsuyoi can describe the strength of a wind (kaze ga tsuyoi — 強い風, a strong wind), the potency of alcohol (osake ni tsuyoi — お酒に強い, tolerant of alcohol), resistance to cold (samusa ni tsuyoi — 寒さに強い, tough in the cold), or competitive ability (shogi ga tsuyoi — 将棋が強い, strong at shogi). Its antonym is yowai (弱い, weak). In sports and games, tsuyoi is the primary word for a strong team or player.
A crucial learner trap: tsuyoi (強い) is specifically strength or resilience in a particular domain, not general greatness. Saying 彼は強い (kare wa tsuyoi) without context usually implies physical strength or competitive ability. To say someone is strong at a specific skill, use が: 数学が強い (suugaku ga tsuyoi, strong at math). The phrase 気が強い (ki ga tsuyoi, strong-willed, assertive — sometimes implying stubbornness) and 気が弱い (ki ga yowai, timid, meek) are common personality descriptors in everyday Japanese.
強い is written with the kanji 強 (kyou/tsuyoi), which combines 弓 (bow, as in archery bow) with 虫 (insect/creature) and 彡 (stripes/lines). The historical meaning connected the tension of a drawn bowstring to the concept of strength. 強 also appears in 強調 (kyouchou, emphasis/stress), 強制 (kyousei, coercion), and 勉強 (benkyou, studying — literally ‘forcing yourself hard’), showing how this character’s sense of effort and force extends through the vocabulary.
Everyday use
台風の影響で今日は風が強いです。
Taifuu no eikyou de kyou wa kaze ga tsuyoi desu.
Due to the typhoon, the wind is strong today.
Casual / Social Media
あの選手、本当に強いよね！決勝まで行きそう。
Ano senshu, hontou ni tsuyoi yo ne! Kesshou made ikisou.
That player is really strong! They look like they’ll make it to the finals.
Formal / Cultural context
強い意志を持って困難に立ち向かうことが重要です。
Tsuyoi ishi wo motte konnan ni tachimukau koto ga juuyou desu.
It is important to face difficulties with a strong will.
Tsuyoi carries a particular resonance in Japanese martial arts and sports culture, where the concept of strength is inseparable from discipline, perseverance, and the suppression of weakness. The ideal of the strong (tsuyoi) person in Japanese martial contexts — judo, kendo, sumo — is not simply physical dominance but composure under pressure and the ability to draw on trained reflex rather than emotion. The word 根性 (konjou, fighting spirit / grit) often accompanies tsuyoi in sports contexts, suggesting that true strength involves mental endurance as much as physical power.
In gaming and internet culture, tsuyoi has been enthusiastically adopted as a way to describe overpowered characters, dominant strategies, or impressive performances. ‘Tsuyoi!’ (強い！) is a common reaction comment in gaming streams and competitive communities, equivalent to ‘OP!’ or ‘That’s broken!’ in English. The contrast between tsuyoi and yowai (弱い) has also entered everyday digital discourse: ‘tsuyoi’ characters in gacha games, ‘tsuyoi’ teams in sports brackets, and ‘tsuyoi’ exam preparation strategies are all common uses on Japanese social media, showing how the word’s original sense of competitive dominance has translated naturally into digital contexts.