87627
I want to say, "I miss my old phone". How can I express it in Japanese?
According to the dictionary '恋しい' is used. But I'ven't found examples where
'恋しい' is used in the case of missing a non-living matter. I'm not sure if I
can use 恋しい or not for non-living matters like '前の携帯が恋しい' for 'I miss my old
phone.'
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-25T11:35:01.380
87626
2021-07-27T01:03:31.040
45671
question
english-to-japanese
How to say "I miss ◯◯" when ◯◯ is a non-living thing?
This type of "miss" is tricky to translate. Options include:

  * (前の携帯が) **なくてつらい** , **なくて大変だ** : if you are actually having trouble because you don't have it
  * (前の携帯が) **懐かしい** : if you are just feeling nostalgic about it
  * (前の携帯が) **あればいい[のに](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/42414/5010)**
  * (前の携帯が) **(今)欲しい**
  * (前の携帯は) **良かったな**

If you reeeally loved your old phone, 恋しい is not a wrong choice, although it
usually sounds exaggerated.

On a side note, when the object is a human, 恋しい is not always a safe choice
because it can imply romantic love, as the kanji suggests. If you just want to
say "I miss you" to your friend, consider using いなくて寂しい, 寂しくなるよ, 会いたいな or
something.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-25T14:10:03.360
87627
2021-07-27T01:03:31.040
2021-07-27T01:03:31.040
5010
5010
87626
answer