How to Say "Good Show" in Japanese

いい番組

ii bangumi

In Japanese, 'good show' is expressed as いい番組 (ii bangumi) when referring to a high-quality television or radio program.

This phrase is specifically used to describe the quality of a media program, such as a broadcast on television or radio.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of the adjective いい (ii), meaning 'good' and the noun 番組 (bangumi), meaning 'program'.

ii bangumi

The term 番組 (bangumi) was used during the Edo period to describe the organized duties of shogunate officials long before the invention of television.
While いい (ii) means 'good', Japanese speakers frequently use 面白い (omoshiroi), meaning 'interesting', to call a show 'good' even if the content is a horror or tragedy.
In Japan, the term 番組 (bangumi) is strictly for broadcasts. If you are talking about a live stage play or a concert, you would use 公演 (kōen) or ショー (shō) instead.

いい番組でした。
That was a good show.
This sentence is useful for saying that a specific program was a good show.
Tatoeba #11021695 by small_snow, translation #11021692 by shekitten
美しい演奏に感動しました。
I was touched by the beautiful performance.
信じられないくらい素晴らしいパフォーマンスだった！
It was an unbelievably amazing performance!
これは本当にいい番組ですね。
Kore wa hontō ni ii bangumi desu ne.
This is a really good show.
昨日の夜はいい番組があった。
Kinō no yoru wa ii bangumi ga atta.
There was a good show last night.

Misaki and Yota are discussing a documentary they watched.

美咲 Misaki

昨日のドキュメンタリー、いい番組だったね。
Kinō no dokyumentarī, ii bangumi datta ne.
Yesterday's documentary was a good show, wasn't it?
陽太 Yota

うん、とても勉強になったよ。
Un, totemo benkyō ni natta yo.
Yeah, I learned a lot from it.
美咲 Misaki

陽太もそう思うなら、次も見ようよ。
Yōta mo sō omou nara, tsugi mo miyō yo.
If you think so too, Yota, let's watch the next one.
陽太 Yota

いいよ、楽しみにしてるね。
Ii yo, tanoshimi ni shiteru ne.
Sure, I'm looking forward to it.

Sources

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