超可愛い
chō kawaii
In Japanese, the phrase for "so cute" is 超可愛い (chō kawaii).
This expression is used to describe something that is extremely adorable or charming.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
超可愛い (chō kawaii) is common in casual, spoken Japanese, but it is considered informal. For formal situations, you might use とても可愛いです (it is very cute), とっても可愛らしいですね (it is very lovely, isn't it?) or とてもチャーミングです (it is very charming). In other informal contexts, you can also say すごく可愛い (really cute), かわいすぎる (too cute) or ホントに可愛い (really adorable).
How do you pronounce it?
chō kawaii
Did you know?
- The word 可愛い (kawaii) is historically linked to the word 'ka-wa-yu-i', which originally described the feeling of being 'pitiful' or 'touching' in a way that makes one want to protect something.
- The concept of kawaii culture is so influential that it extends to 'ugly-cute' things, known as busakawa.
- The prefix 超 (chō) literally means 'super' or 'hyper' and was popularized by youth culture to intensify adjectives.
Examples in context
- とっても可愛いですねThe baby is very cute, isn't it?
- すごく可愛いIt's really cute!
- ホントに可愛いIt's really adorable!
- この子猫、超可愛い！Kono koneko, chō kawaii!This kitten is so cute!
- そのデザイン、超可愛いね。Sono dezain, chō kawaii ne.That design is so cute.
- 赤ちゃん、超可愛いです。Akachan, chō kawaii desu.The baby is so cute.
Example conversation
Misaki and Hiroto are looking at photos of puppies on a smartphone.
- 美咲 Misakiこの写真、超可愛い！Kono shashin, chō kawaii!This photo is so cute!
- 大翔 Hiroto本当だね、超可愛いよ。Hontō da ne, chō kawaii yo.You're right, it's so cute.
- 美咲 Misaki大翔くんもそう思う？Hiroto-kun mo sō omou?Do you think so too, Hiroto?
- 大翔 Hirotoうん、すごく可愛い。Un, sugoku kawaii.Yeah, it's really cute.
