彼女はすごくかわいい
kanojo wa sugoku kawaii
The English phrase "she is so cute" is translated into Japanese as 彼女はすごくかわいい (kanojo wa sugoku kawaii).
This phrase is used to describe a female person as being very attractive or endearing. While used for people, the adjective かわいい is also frequently used to describe objects, animals and clothing.
What does it mean word for word?
彼女 (kanojo) means "she" or "girlfriend". すごく (sugoku) is the adverbial form of sugoi (amazing/extreme) and means "very" or "extremely". かわいい (kawaii) means "cute" or "adorable".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
To make the phrase more polite and suitable for speaking to strangers or superiors, you can use the form 彼女はとてもかわいいです by adding です to the end.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word かわいい is an i-adjective, which means it ends in the syllable "i" and can be conjugated. For example, to say "she was so cute", you change the adjective to the past tense form かわいかった, resulting in 彼女はすごくかわいかった.
How do you pronounce it?
kanojo wa sugoku kawaii
Did you know?
- The word 'sugoi' used in 'sugoku' originally meant 'terrible' or 'fearsome' in ancient Japanese. It has since evolved into a common way to express positive emphasis like 'extremely'.
- In Japanese pop culture, a person who is 'too cute' might be described as 'kawaisou', but be careful: this actually means 'pitiful' or 'poor thing'.
- The word 彼女 (kanojo) is a relatively modern creation. Historically, Japanese did not have a specific word for 'she', and speakers instead used the person's name or a descriptive phrase.
Examples in context
- 彼女はとても可愛いです。She is very cute.
- 彼女は非常に可愛らしいですね。She is extremely charming, isn't she?
- 彼女は超可愛い！She is super cute!
- すごく可愛いんだよね。She is really cute, you know.
- あいつはめっちゃ可愛いやん！She is really cute, you know!
- 彼女はすごくかわいい。Kanojo wa sugoku kawaii.She is so cute.
- あの子、彼女はすごくかわいいね。Ano ko, kanojo wa sugoku kawaii ne.That girl, she is so cute, isn't she?
Example conversation
Misaki and Ren are looking at a photo of a baby girl.
- 美咲 Misaki見て、この赤ちゃん！Mite, kono akachan!Look at this baby!
- 蓮 Ren本当だ。彼女はすごくかわいいね。Hontō da. Kanojo wa sugoku kawaii ne.You're right. She is so cute.
- 美咲 Misakiほっぺがぷりぷりだよ。Hoppe ga puripuri dayo.Her cheeks are so chubby.
- 蓮 Ren本当に癒やされるなあ。Hontō ni iyasareru nā.She's really soothing to look at.
