The word すごい (sugoi) is very popular, even among people who don’t know a lot of Japanese.Sugoihas two major definitions:amazingandterrible. That’s prettysugoiitself, right?
Not only doessugoihave two very different meanings, but it’s also quite flexible within a sentence.Sugoican be an adverb, adjective, or just an exclamation of delight. You can use it with your friendsandyour boss! Pretty cool, right? Let’s take a more in-depth look at the meaning of すごい and the many scenarios you can use it in.
When and How to SaySugoi
Here are the major scenarios and ways in which you would find yourself wanting to saysugoi!
Sugoias an Exclamation
The most familiar use of すごい to non-native speakers would be the shout of amazement or joy: すごいね！
Examples:
- John: I found a new job! 「新しい仕事を見つけた！」(Atarashii shigoto o mitsuketa!)
Kimi: Great! When do you start?「すごいね！いつから始まるの？」(Sugoi ne! Itsu kara hajimaru no?)
2. Mike: Sorry, I’m late. My mom yelled at me for 20 minutes.
「遅くなってごめん。お母さんに２０分ぐらい叱られた。」 (Osokunatte gomen. Okaa-san ni ni juppun gurai shikarareta.)
Ken: Wow…what did you do?「うわっ、すげえな。何をした？」 (Uwa,sugee na. Nani o sh*ta?)
3. Amazing! That guy ate three bowls of ramen!「すごい！あの人がラーメンを三つ食べた！」 (Sugoi! Ano hito ga raamen o mittsu tabeta!)
As you can see,sugoiwill either stand on its own as an exclamation or fit smoothly into a sentence structure to express amazement.
One of these sentences has an alternative pronunciation “すげえ” (sugee). Bear in mind that this is an extremely casual way of sayingsugoiand some Japanese people might find it rude. Unfortunately, this is more of a problem if a girl sayssugee; it’s considered a pretty masculine use ofsugoi.
Sugoias an Adjective
You can usesugoito compliment (or insult) a person, place, or thing.Sugoican still definitely hold a negative and even sarcastic connotation, depending on your tone and the situation.
Examples:
- My dad is an amazing person. He’s my hero. 「 お父さんはすごい人です。僕のヒーローです。」 (Otousan wasugoihito desu. Boku no hiiroo desu.)
2. Smartphones are an amazing technology, right? 「スマホはかなりすごいテクノロジーよね。」(Sumaho wa kanarisugoitekunorojii yo ne.)
3. Is it even possible to get a zero on this easy test? You must be incredibly dumb. 「こんなに簡単なテストにゼロ点取るなんて、すごいバカだと思う。」 (Konna ni kantan na tesuto ni zero ten o toru nante,sugoibaka da to omou.)
Sugoias an Adverb
Sugoiis often used to emphasize verbs in a sentence. This can be either a positive emphasis or a negative emphasis. When you use sugoias an adverb, remove the “い” (i) and replace it with “く” (ku). すごい→すごく。
Examples:
- My sister is super gorgeous. 「お姉さんはすごくきれいでしょう。」(Oneesan wasugokukirei deshou.)
2. This sushi is delicious! 「この寿司はすごく美味しい！」 (Kono sushi wasugokuoishii!)
3. My head hurts terribly. 「頭がすごく痛い。」 (Atama gasugokuitai.)
Many Japanese people make the colloquial mistake of leaving out the く(ku) insugokuwhen they use it this way as an adverb. Technically, this is a grammatical error. Check out more on hownotto saysugoiandsugokuatJapanese Ammo.
Using Sugoiin Formal Conversations
Sugoiis more of a casual phrase than something you would say to your boss, but it isn’t entirely out of place in business conversations. After all, amazing (or terrible) things happen in the workplace, too.
When you’re in the company of superiors or peers, be sure to add です (desu) or ます (masu) at the end of your sentences. This will ensure that your tone is 丁寧 (ていねい、teinei) or polite. For more on polite and formal Japanese, check out ourarticleon the topic!
Examples:
- Today’s meeting was incredibly long, wasn’t it? 「今日の会議は、すごく長かったですね。」 (Kyou no kaigi wa,sugokunagakatta desu ne.)
2. Wow, you did this very well. 「すごい。これ良く出来ましたね。」 (Sugoi. Kore yoku dekimash*ta ne.)
The History ofSugoi
The commonly held belief is that the original nuance of すごい was a negative one. This is because the radicals in 凄い (sugoi) are more negative than positive. Specifically, the leftmost radical 冫 (hyou)means “water, ice, cold” and is often used to depict a cold shoulder/attitude or a chilling event. For an even more detailed look at 凄い and its radicals, check outBond Lingo’s takeon the kanji.
These days, すごい is often written in hiragana, and people tend to use it positively. Young people especially will use the word when something awesome or surprising happens. Adults and even business workers will use the adverbial conjugation (すごく – sugoku) to emphasize something they enjoyed—or disliked. No matter what shape it takes, すごいis rampant in 21st century Japanese.
Conclusion
The wordsugoiis pretty impressive, right? You can use it in a ton of different situations, and it works in both polite and casual conversations.
What’s something you discovered recently that you thought was すごい？Let us know in the comment! Thank you for reading this article.Youare alsosugoi!
