可愛い
kawaii[ka̠β̞a̠ii]
In Japanese, the word for pretty can be expressed as 可愛い (kawaii) or 綺麗な.
Meaning: especially of women and children: pleasant, attractive (adj)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 綺麗な | kirei-na | |
| 可愛い | kawaii | [ka̠β̞a̠ii] (narrow) [ka̠β̞a̠jɯ̟i] (narrow) |
These terms are used to describe something or someone as attractive or pleasant, especially when referring to women and children. While they both mean pretty, 可愛い often carries a sense of being cute or having a sweet, appealing appearance and 綺麗な focuses more on elegance or beauty. Additionally, the base word for 綺麗な can also mean clean or tidy.
Which one should you use?
可愛い focuses on being cute or adorable, whereas 綺麗な focuses on being beautiful or elegant.
How does it change in a sentence?
To use the adjective 綺麗な as an adverb (for example, to say 'to write prettily'), change it to the form 綺麗に. If you want to express that something 'was' pretty or cute in the past tense, use 可愛かった for 可愛い and 綺麗だった for 綺麗な.
How do you pronounce it?
kawaii
Did you know?
- The word 可愛い originally described something so embarrassing or shameful that it made one's face flush. It underwent a massive shift from meaning 'shameful' to 'lovable' over several centuries.
- Although the kanji in 可愛い look like they might be related to the Chinese word for 'lovable', this is actually just a coincidence. There is no linguistic connection between the Japanese word and the Mandarin 'kě'ài'.
- The word 可愛い is so central to modern culture that it has spawned the 'kawaii' aesthetic, influencing everything from fashion to government mascots.
Examples in context
- 蝶々って可愛い。Butterflies are pretty.Tatoeba #9848204 by small_snow, translation #6050950 by Hybrid
- わぁ、綺麗な指輪！Wow, pretty ring!Tatoeba #10367443 by small_snow, translation #10370414 by terrywallwork
- 彼女、可愛いよね？She's pretty, isn't she?Tatoeba #12698621 by small_snow, translation #4597307 by Hybrid
- 彼女は美しいです。She is beautiful.
- そのドレス、キレイだね。That dress is pretty, isn't it?
- あの子は本当に可愛い。That girl is really pretty.
- 彼女はとても美しいですね。She is very beautiful, isn't she?
- あの花は美しく咲いています。That flower is blooming beautifully.
- このリング、キレイだよ。This ring is pretty.
- 彼は可愛い犬を飼っています。He has a cute dog.
- 22 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta and Himari are looking at a photo of a small child.
- 健太 Kentaこの赤ちゃん、すごく可愛いね。Kono akachan, sugoku kawaii ne.This baby is really cute, isn't he?
- 陽葵 Himari本当、可愛いね。Hontou, kawaii ne.He really is cute.
- 健太 Kenta陽葵も、その服を着ると可愛いよ。Himari mo, sono fuku o kiru to kawaii yo.Himari, you look pretty in those clothes too.
- 陽葵 Himariありがとう、嬉しい！Arigatou, ureshii!Thank you, I'm happy!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pretty” translations and entries 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.
