貴い

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 貴い, read とうとい, is an i-adjective for something deeply precious or morally noble.
• Basic usage: It can evaluate the irreplaceable value of life or the nobility of an intention to help others.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Choose the evaluation by its target
  • 命は貴い emphasizes precious value, while 貴い志 evaluates an intention as noble.
• Attributive and predicative use
  • The examples show predicative 貴い and attributive 貴い志. Both retain the i-adjective's dictionary form.