可愛い
kawaii[ka̠β̞a̠ii]
可愛い (kawaii) is the Japanese word for cute.
可愛い is the most common and versatile word for "cute" in Japanese. It is used broadly to describe anything from small animals and children to fashion, accessories and even certain personality traits. While 可愛い describes things that are attractive or pleasing in a youthful, dainty, quaint or fun-spirited way, you might also encounter きれい, which primarily means "beautiful" or "clean" but can be used to describe someone or something as cute in an elegant way.
Meaning: attractive or pleasing in a youthful, dainty, quaint or fun-spirited way (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the past tense, "was cute", use 可愛かった. To express the negative form, "not cute", use 可愛くない. You can also add particles to the end of the word to change the nuance: adding ね (kawaii ne) makes it sound like "It's cute, right?" to seek agreement, while adding よ (kawaii yo) is a straightforward, informal way to say "it's cute."
How do you pronounce it?
kawaii
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful not to confuse 可愛い (cute) with 怖い (scary), as they have very similar pronunciations.
When do people say it?
To convey extra endearment, the suffix -chan is often added to names or nouns. Among the younger generation, it is common to use the phrase めっちゃかわいい to mean "super cute" or "extremely cute".
Did you know?
- The word 可愛い actually began as a way to describe something shameful or embarrassing. It evolved from the idea of feeling a sense of shame or embarrassment before someone's face.
- The term kawaii has evolved into a global cultural phenomenon, describing a specific aesthetic of 'cuteness' that influences Japanese fashion, mascot design and consumer products worldwide.
Examples in context
- 猫って可愛い。Cats are cute.Tatoeba #9740669 by small_snow, translation #5649044 by Hybrid
- これ、可愛いな。This is cute.Tatoeba #3400993 by arnab, translation #2942629 by CM
- 猫耳キャラ可愛い！Neko mimi characters are cute!Tatoeba #4518857 by kuroyukihime, translation #4518858 by kuroyukihime
- 64 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Misaki shows Hiroto a picture of a puppy.
- 美咲 Misakiこの子、すごく可愛いと思わない？Kono ko, sugoku kawaii to omowanai?Don't you think this little one is so cute?
- 大翔 Hiroto本当だ。本当に可愛いね。Hontō da. Hontō ni kawaii ne.You're right. It really is cute.
- 美咲 Misakiいいでしょ？欲しくなっちゃった。Ii desho? Hoshiku natchatta.Isn't it great? Now I want one.
- 大翔 Hiroto美咲は可愛いものが大好きだね。Misaki wa kawaii mono ga daisuki da ne.Misaki, you really love cute things.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 可愛い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 可愛い, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
