いい
ii[iː]
In Japanese, the phrase "good" is expressed as いい (ii). Wiktionary also lists 良い (yoi).
Meaning: pleasant, enjoyable (adj)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| いい | ii | [iː] (narrow) |
| 良い | yoi | [jo̞i] (narrow) [e̞i] (narrow) |
This adjective is used to describe something that is pleasant or enjoyable. While it is the standard way to express that something is good, you might use 素晴らしい (subarashii) for "wonderful" or "great", 最高 (saikou) for "the best" or "awesome" or ご機嫌 (gokigen) to describe someone's good mood or state.
Which one should you use?
The form いい is the standard version used in spoken conversation. In contrast, 良い (yoi) is more commonly found in written text or more formal contexts.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Additionally, when expressing that something was good in the past, you use 良かった (yokatta).
How do you pronounce it?
ii
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use ii katta to say something was good. Instead, use the correct past tense form 良かった (yokatta).
Did you know?
- In Japanese, saying いいです (ii desu) can be a polite way to say 'no thank you'. Depending on the context, it tells the speaker that the current situation is already 'good enough' and no further offer is needed.
- The word いい can behave like a complete sentence on its own in a conversation to express agreement or approval.
- The ancestor of the modern word いい (ii) was the Old Japanese word よし (yoshi).
Examples in context
- いい人です。He's a good person.This sentence is useful for describing a person using いい.Tatoeba #229344 by bunbuku, translation #2368 by CK
- いい考えだ。It's a good idea.This sentence is useful for describing an idea using いい.Tatoeba #3366812 by arnab, translation #3334010 by CK
- 景気が良い。The economy is good.This sentence is useful for describing the economy using 良い.Tatoeba #7558237 by Ninja, translation #1265409 by Scott
- 良い一日, yoi ichinichiA good day
- 良い食事, yoi shokujiA good meal
- おはようございます、ご機嫌いかがですか (Ohayou gozaimasu, gokigen ikaga desu ka)Good morning, how are you?
- 最高！ (Saikou!)That's great!
- 882 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yui and Yota are talking about a movie they just watched.
- 結衣 Yuiあの映画、いいですね。Ano eiga, ii desu ne.That movie was good, wasn't it?
- 陽太 Yotaはい、とてもいい物語でした。Hai, totemo ii monogatari deshita.Yes, it was a very good story.
- 結衣 Yui音楽もいい感じでしたね。Ongaku mo ii kanji deshita ne.The music felt good too, didn't it?
- 陽太 Yota本当にいい映画でした。Hontō ni ii eiga deshita.It really was a good movie.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good” translations and entries いい, 良い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries いい, 良い, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
