素晴らしかった
subarashikatta
In Japanese, "it was amazing" can be expressed as 素晴らしかった (subarashikatta).
This phrase is used to describe a past experience or thing as being wonderful or impressive.
Which one should you use?
While 素晴らしかった implies a sense of wonder or high quality, すごかった is a more common, colloquial way to say something was amazing or intense.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For polite situations, such as speaking to strangers or superiors, use 素晴らしかったです by adding です to the end. In informal settings, you can use すごかった. The word すごい is a colloquial form meaning "amazing".
How does it change in a sentence?
In casual speech, the phrase can stand alone as a complete sentence without a subject. To say "it was very amazing" in a formal way, you can add とても before 素晴らしかったです.
How do you pronounce it?
subarashikatta
Did you know?
- While すごい now means 'amazing', it originally meant 'terrifying' or 'scary'. Over time, the meaning shifted from 'fear-inducing' to 'overwhelming' and finally to 'impressive'.
- Japanese has a nuanced way of expressing 'amazing' through the word すごい, which can be used sarcastically to describe a 'terrible' level of failure. For example, a massive blunder can be described as すごい to highlight its scale.
- The word すごい is frequently used as an 'aizuchi' or backchannel response. In this context, saying すごい! doesn't necessarily mean you think the story is amazing, but rather that you are actively listening to the speaker.
Examples in context
- この映画はとてもすばらしかったです。This movie was amazing.
- あのコンサートすごかった！That concert was amazing!
- 昨日のコンサートは素晴らしかった。Kinō no konsāto wa subarashikatta.Yesterday's concert was amazing.
- あの映画、本当に素晴らしかったよ。Ano eiga, hontō ni subarashikatta yo.That movie was truly amazing.
- 景色がとても素晴らしかった。Keshiki ga totemo subarashikatta.The scenery was wonderful.
Example conversation
Yui and Ren are talking about a movie they watched together.
- 結衣 Yui映画はどうだった？Eiga wa dō datta?How was the movie?
- 蓮 Ren本当に素晴らしかったよ。Hontō ni subarashikatta yo.It was truly amazing.
- 結衣 Yui私もそう思う！Watashi mo sō omou!I think so too!
- 蓮 Renまた見に行こうね。Mata mi ni ikō ne.Let's go see it again.
