何の言葉12 奥が深い(oku ga fukai)

Hi readers!

How do you find the words that we’ve chosen for 何の言葉 so far? We are slowly raising the heat 🔥

“Sometimes it’s a little complicated to understand..” you might be thinking.

Yeah, this is how we felt too when we were explaining more complicated Japanese words! 🤯

For example: What is common sense in everyday life to a Japanese person, could be so foreign to a Malaysian, American, etc, and vice versa.

We faced this problem for the first time with ほっとする.

Most Japanese people associate the “feeling of ほっとする” to relaxing in an onsen 🧖‍♂️♨️ like a “breather” amidst the busy life. But in Malaysia or other countries, we don’t do that regularly! As our goal is to share useful daily life phrases, we did our best to use more inclusive examples 👪

Since the past few months, we came to this realization:

日本語のニュアンスを翻訳するのは、思ったより複雑だった。🤔
Translating the nuances of Japanese language is much more complex than we thought.

What one person imagines might be different to another person.

That’s so profound, don’t you think?

The good thing is that this feeling can easily be expressed in Japanese with a single phrase. 🤗

What is 奥が深い？

奥が深い (oku ga fukai) is an adjective to describe something is “profound” or “deep”

In other words, you might think in this way:
“It’s difficult to understand the true meaning or essence for me, but it’s still fascinating”

When to use 奥が深い？

Here are some examples of when you might use this phrase:

1. In front of an abstract painting

2. While talking to someone about a complex topic

3. Discussing about deep history or culture that goes beyond your understanding

4. Learning about something interesting and complex

The expression 奥が深い is considered thoughtful, as you feel curious and ponder the subject’s complexities.

⭐ It is a convenient phrase to use when you want to comment on something abstract like a painting, “This is interesting”, so you can say 「奥が深いですね。」Using 奥が深い also makes you sound a bit intelligent or capable, but it’s best not to use it too often.

What’s the difference between 深い (fukai) and 奥が深い (oku ga fukai)？

「深いですね」has the same nuance as 「奥が深いですね」 but has a more casual vibe and sense of vagueness compared to 奥が深い。 

Similar English phrases:

Profound
Deep
~ has so many layers
Intricate
Vast

 💡 The world of … 🌎

One of the most used word with 奥が深い is ○○の世界 (literally means “the world of …”).

ワインの世界は奥が深い。
The world of wine has many layers.

着物の世界は奥が深い。
The world of kimono is vast.

If you have a hobby that other people find it hard to understand, you can try out this phrase: (your hobby) の世界は奥が深い.

1.　宇宙の話って奥が深いよね。
The topic about the universe is really profound, don’t you think?

2.　「インターステラー」っていう映画は、なかなか奥が深かった。
The movie "Interstellar” was quite profound.

3.　あまり知られてないけど、スリッパの世界は奥が深い。
Not many people know this, but the world of slippers is very intricate.

4.　そのアニメは、かわいいだけに見えて、実は奥が深い。
The anime may look cute, but actually, it’s very deep.

5.　軽い気持ちでテニスを始めたら、けっこう奥が深かった。
I started playing tennis casually, but eventually I got quite into it.

Similar Japanese phrases:

深い(fukai)

Although it was an old movie — Interstellar came to mind when we were thinking about 奥が深い. Do you think we are correct?

And if you are a fan of such movies, let us know your recommendation of any 奥が深い movie or anime!

Til our next newsletter 👋

Sincerely,
Amasugi Letter