How to express longing in Japanese?

Some people brag because they think that Portuguese is the only language that has the word saudade. And indeed, if we take most translations of saudade into other languages, we will find more words that mean absence, nostalgia, or missing someone. Still, this word does not exist only in Portuguese; it originated from Latin and is found in several Romance languages, although sometimes with different meanings.

It is not just Portuguese that has some exclusivities; Japanese is full of verbs, expressions, and words that cannot be literally translated into other languages, but unfortunately, there is no single word to say “to miss or saudade.”

If there is not literally a word to indicate the feeling of saudade in other languages, how do you say that you miss someone in Japanese? There are several ways to express this in Japanese, and in this article, we will see some of them.

Japanese is quite complete when it comes to demonstrating feelings, so much so that there are various ways to say that you love or like something or someone. The same thing happens when trying to demonstrate the feeling of saudade or missing someone. Japanese often uses the combination of verbs to form others, and many verbs have various meanings, which can even be confusing.

恋しい – Koishii

This is an expression that demonstrates longing, desire, and the feeling of missing someone, but it should be used with caution, since the kanji 恋 means love and passion. It may seem more common to use 恋しい with your girlfriend or wife. However, it is normal to use koishii with other people you haven’t seen in a long time, or even with food and objects, but it is not common, since there are other words for that. Koishii can indicate that you have an intimate relationship or something like that.

Examples:

• 私は恋しい – watashi wa koishii – I miss you;
• 私はあなたが恋しい – watashi wa anata ga koishii – I miss you;
• あなたが恋しい – anata ga koishii – I miss you;
• 私もあなたが恋しいです – watashi mo anata ga koishii desu – I also miss you;
• アメリカのピザが恋しいな~ – amerika no piza ga koishiina – I miss American pizza;

会いたい – Aitai

This may be the most common expression to say that you miss someone. However, its literal translation is ‘I want to meet you’ or ‘I want to see you.’ One thing I noticed is that ai (会い) also means love, but when written with the kanji 愛, so even though it is a homonym, it is as if you are expressing a feeling of love like the word saudade by saying aitai.

It is easy to notice that many words and kanji in Japanese with the same pronunciations have similar or related meanings and radicals. Of course, there is no direct reference in the Japanese language regarding these two words.

• 久美子さんにすっごく会いたいよ。
• Kumiko-san ni suggoku aitaiyo;
• I really want to see you, Kumiko;
• I miss you a lot, Kumiko;
• すっごく can be translated as very, immensely, terribly;

寂しい – sabishii / samishii

The word 寂しい – sabishii literally means “alone, lonely, desolate,” but the Japanese often use it to indicate that they are alone because they miss someone or feel their absence. In fact, it is easier to find the word sabishii in sentences that express “I miss you” than aitai.

The word sabishii can also be written with the ideogram 淋 (淋しい), in which case you are saying that your loneliness is more severe. So if you just want to say that you miss someone, use the kanji 寂.

• 彼女は彼がいなくて寂しい。
• Kanojo wa kare ga inakute sabishii;
• She misses him;

---

• 君がいなくて寂しいよ。
• Kimi ga inakute sabishī yo;
• I miss you;
• I feel saudade;

---

• あなたが日本を離れたら、私たちはとてもさびしく思うでしょう。
• Anata ga Nihon o hanaretara, watashitachi wa totemo sabishiku omoudeshou;
• We will miss you a lot if you leave Japan;

懐かしい – Natsukashii

The expression natsukashii can be literally translated as something dear, nostalgic, desired, and forgotten. It is often used to say that you miss something, a time from the past, old times, a trip, or something like that. However, it is also used to say that you miss a person; see example sentences below:

• この歌を聞いたら、あなたについて思って、懐かしむんだ。
• Kono uta o kiitara, anata ni tsuite omotte, natsukashimu nda;
• When I hear this song, I think of you and miss you;

---

• 小学校の先生達のことが懐かしい。
• Shōgakkō no sensei-tachi no koto ga natsukashī;
• I miss my elementary school teachers;
• I feel saudade for my elementary school teachers;

There should still be other expressions and words to demonstrate the feeling of missing or loss, like defeat in a soccer game, and many examples of use are also missing. I hope this small article helps you understand how to express that you miss someone or something.

Read also: Death Parade – An Anime about Gambling