よかったです
yokatta desu
The Japanese phrase for "it was good" is よかったです (yokatta desu).
While the phrase can be used to describe the quality of something in the past, it is frequently used to express relief or to say "I'm glad" or "That's a relief" in response to news or a situation.
What does it mean word for word?
The word よかった is the past tense of the adjective いい, which means "good".
Which one should you use?
Use よかったです to refer to a completed event or a past state, whereas いいです is used to refer to a current state (meaning "it is good").
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Kansai region, you may hear the variation ええ感じやった, which means "It had a good feeling".
How does it change in a sentence?
The informal version of the phrase is simply よかった, which is the word without the polite suffix です.
How do you pronounce it?
yokatta desu
Did you know?
- When someone tells you good news, responding with よかったです is often more natural than saying 'congratulations'. It signals that you are genuinely relieved for their sake.
- While よかったです expresses a positive outcome, Japanese has a separate concept of 'good' for moral goodness, often using the word 善い (yoi) instead.
- In some contexts, よかった can be used sarcastically to mean 'just great' or 'perfect' when something has gone wrong, similar to English.
Examples in context
- 映画はとても良かったです。The movie was very good.
- レストランでの食事は大変満足しましたI was greatly satisfied with the meal at the restaurant.
- コンサートはすごく良かった。The concert was really good.
- 旅行はめちゃくちゃ良かった。The trip was fantastic.
- 食べ物はええ感じやった。The food had a good feeling (it was tasty).
- テストの結果がよかったです。Tesuto no kekka ga yokatta desu.The test results were good.
- 旅行はとてもよかったです。Ryoko wa totemo yokatta desu.The trip was very good.
- 傘があってよかったです。Kasa ga atte yokatta desu.It was good that I had an umbrella.
Example conversation
Ren and Misaki are talking about a test they both passed.
- 蓮 Ren美咲さんも合格したんですね。Misaki-san mo goukaku shita n desu ne.You passed the test too, Misaki.
- 美咲 Misakiはい。本当によかったです。Hai. Hontou ni yokatta desu.Yes. I'm so glad.
- 蓮 Ren二人とも頑張りましたね。Futari tomo ganbarimashita ne.We both worked hard.
- 美咲 Misakiそうですね。安心しました。Sou desu ne. Anshin shimashita.That's true. I'm relieved.
