What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adjective いい (ii), meaning good and the noun 写真 (shashin), meaning photograph.
Which one should you use?
While いい写真 is a direct way to say "nice photo," other variations offer different nuances. 素敵な写真 translates to "lovely photo," and 美しい写真 translates to "beautiful photo." For a more enthusiastic or informal compliment, you might say めっちゃいい写真だね！ (This photo is super nice!) or すごい上手に撮れてるよ！ (You took it amazingly well!).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The bare phrase いい写真 is informal and is best used with friends or people of equal social standing. For a more sophisticated and polite compliment, use 素敵な写真 (suteki na shashin) instead of いい (ii).
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase sound more natural, polite and conversational, you can add ですね (desu ne) to the end, resulting in いい写真ですね (ii shashin desu ne).
How do you pronounce it?
ii shashin
Did you know?
- In Japanese culture, if you compliment someone's photo with いい写真ですね, the person might actually respond with a polite denial like いえいえ (ie ie). This modest rejection is a common social ritual to show humility.
- When looking at a photo that is incredibly popular on social media, Japanese people often use the slang term 映え (bae) instead of 'nice photo'. This comes from the verb 'baeru', which means 'to shine' or 'to stand out'.
- There is a subtle social trap when using いい (ii) to describe a photo to a boss or teacher. Because the word can imply that something is 'satisfactory' or 'acceptable', it can inadvertently sound condescending or patronizing to a superior.
Examples in context
- いい写真ですね。Ii shashin desu ne.That is a nice photo.
- これは本当にいい写真だ。Kore wa hontoni ii shashin da.This is a really nice photo.
Example conversation
Hiyori is looking at a picture on Hiroto's phone.
- 陽葵 Himariわあ、いい写真ですね！Waa, ii shashin desu ne!Wow, this is a nice photo!
- 大翔 Hirotoありがとう。旅行で撮ったんだ。Arigatou. Ryokou de totta nda.Thanks. I took it on a trip.
- 陽葵 Himariどこで撮ったんですか？Doko de totta n desu ka?Where did you take it?
- 大翔 Hiroto北海道で撮ったよ。Hokkaido de totta yo.I took it in Hokkaido.
