What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of めっちゃ (meccha), which means 'extremely' or 'very' and 可愛い (kawaii), which means 'cute'.
Which one should you use?
すごく可愛い is another informal way to say "really cute" in everyday conversation and 超かわいい expresses a high level of cuteness with a sense of excitement and exaggeration. とっても可愛らしい can be used to mean "endearingly cute," capturing a sense of charm.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
めっちゃ可愛い is an informal expression and is not suitable for polite or professional settings. If you want to express that something is "really cute" in a polite or formal way, use とてもかわいい or the more polite とても可愛いです.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Kansai dialect, particularly in the Osaka area, people say めっちゃ可愛い to mean "really cute."
How does it change in a sentence?
To express that something "was" really cute in the past tense, change 可愛い to 可愛かった.
How do you pronounce it?
meccha kawaii
Did you know?
- When people find something so 'really cute' that they cannot handle it, they may use the slang term 尊い (toutoi), which literally means 'precious' or 'sacred'.
- The word kawaii originally described things that were 'pitiful' or 'poor', evoking a desire to protect them. This emotional connection to fragility shifted over centuries to mean 'cute'.
- While meccha is now used nationwide, it originated as a slang contraction of mechakucha, meaning 'messy' or 'absurd'. Using it to mean 'very' is a way of saying something is 'absurdly' cute.
Examples in context
- これ、めっちゃ可愛いじゃん。This is really cute.This sentence shows how to use めっちゃ可愛い to describe an object.Tatoeba #9694374 by small_snow, translation #2773711 by Hybrid
- あの子、見て。めっちゃ可愛いよ。Look at that guy. He's really cute.This sentence shows how to use めっちゃ可愛い to describe a person.Tatoeba #10140598 by small_snow, translation #1853752 by Spamster
- この猫、とてもかわいいですね。This cat is very cute, isn't it?
- あなたのドレス、とっても可愛らしいですね。Your dress is really lovely.
- あの子、すごく可愛いよね。That child is really cute, right?
- 今日の猫動画、見て！めちゃくちゃ超かわいいよ！Look at today's cat video! It's ridiculously cute!
- なんでそんなにめっちゃ可愛いん？Why are you so incredibly cute?
- このぬいぐるみ、めっちゃ可愛い！Kono nuigurumi, meccha kawaii!This stuffed animal is really cute!
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at a pet shop window.
- 大翔 Hiroto陽葵、あの猫見て！めっちゃ可愛いよ。Himari, ano neko mite! Meccha kawaii yo.Himari, look at that cat! It's really cute.
- 陽葵 Himari本当だ、大翔くん。すごく癒やされるね。Hontou da, Hiroto-kun. Sugoku iyasareru ne.You're right, Hiroto. It's so soothing.
- 大翔 Hiroto家にも猫がいたらいいのに。Ie ni mo neko ga itara ii no ni.I wish I had a cat at home too.
- 陽葵 Himariそうだね、絶対楽しいと思うよ。Sou da ne, zettai tanoshii to omou yo.True, I think it would definitely be fun.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
