Japanese dictionary
How to say "great" in Japanese
すごいすごい · sugoi
"Great" meaning amazing is すごい (sugoi), or the more formal すばらしい (subarashii). A great person in history is 偉大な人 (idai na hito).
▶ plays native audio. Audio on this site plays when you are logged in to your free japanese.ccn.jp account (the same account as Japanese Talk by CCN).
Ways to say "great" in Japanese
| Japanese | When to use it |
|---|---|
| すごいすごい · sugoi | Great; amazing. |
| すばらしいすばらしい · subarashii | Great; wonderful. More formal. |
| 偉大ないだいな · idai na | Great (important; a great person). |
| 大きなおおきな · ōkina | Great; big. |
How to use it
"That's great!" in response to good news is よかったですね (yokatta desu ne).
すごい can describe both good and bad extremes, like すごい雨 (heavy rain).
Example sentences
- すごいですね。Sugoi desu ne.That's great.
- すばらしいプレゼンでした。Subarashii purezen deshita.That was a great presentation.
- 合格したんですか。よかったですね。Gōkaku shita n desu ka. Yokatta desu ne.You passed? That's great!
- 彼は偉大な科学者です。Kare wa idai na kagakusha desu.He is a great scientist.
- 昨日はすごい雨でした。Kinō wa sugoi ame deshita.There was really heavy rain yesterday.
- この景色はすばらしいです。Kono keshiki wa subarashii desu.This view is wonderful.
Questions
How do you say "That's great!" about someone's good news?
Say よかったですね (yokatta desu ne), "I'm glad for you."
Is すごい always positive?
No. すごい means extreme, so it can describe bad things too, like すごい渋滞 (terrible traffic).
Using Japanese at work?
See Executive JapaneseExecutive Japanese by CCN is one-on-one online Japanese for managers and directors doing business in Japan.