According to one embodiment, a semiconductor light emitting device includes a semiconductor layer, a first electrode, a second electrode, a transparent layer, and a fluorescent material layer. The transparent layer is provided on the first major surface of the semiconductor layer. The transparent layer is transparent with respect to light emitted by the light emitting layer and has a trench provided outside the outer circumference of the light emitting layer. The fluorescent material layer is provided in the trench and on the transparent layer. The fluorescent material layer includes a first fluorescent material particle provided in the trench and a second fluorescent material particle provided on the transparent layer. A particle size of the first fluorescent material particle is smaller than a width of the trench. A particle size of the second fluorescent material particle is larger than the width of the trench and larger than the particle size of the first fluorescent material particle.