Chinese

Noun

大丈夫

1. (literary) a true man; a real man; a man of character

Related terms

• 丈夫 (zhàngfū, “husband”)
• 男子漢／男子汉 (nánzǐhàn)

Japanese

Adjectival noun

大丈夫 ‎(-na inflection, hiragana だいじょうぶ, romaji daijōbu, historical hiragana だいぢやうぶ)

1. (of a person) all right; okay; in good health; uninjured

   大 (だい)丈 (じょう)夫 (ぶ)ですか。

   Daijōbu desu ka.

   Are you all right?

2. (of an object) strong, sturdy, stable
3. safe, certain, correct, certifiable

Synonyms

• (all right or strong): しっかり ‎(shikkari)
• (certain): 確 (たし)か ‎(tashika)

Adverb

大丈夫 ‎(hiragana だいじょうぶ, romaji daijōbu, historical hiragana だいぢやうぶ)

1. certainly; surely; without mistake
   • 1996 February 20, Mitsuru Adachi, “なにがなんだか 後編 [Who Is Who: Last Chapter]”, in ショート・プログラム [Short Program], volume 1 (fiction, in Japanese), 25th edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, ISBN 4-09-121881-4, page 283:

     大 (だい)丈 (じょう)夫 (ぶ)受 (う)かります！

     Daijōbu ukarimasu!

     You'll definitely pass!

     ほんとに⁉

     Honto ni⁉

     Really!?

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, ISBN 4095102535.
• 2002, Yasuo Kitahara, 明鏡国語辞典 (Meikyō Kokugo Jiten), First Edition (in Japanese), Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten, ISBN 4469021067