かっこいい
The English phrase "someone is cool" is translated into Japanese as かっこいい.
かっこいい is a versatile term used to describe someone as cool, handsome or stylish. It can refer to a person's physical attractiveness, their style or a cool action/behavior. If you want to describe someone as impressive or dignified, you can use 立派な.
Which one should you use?
While かっこいい is a standard way to say someone is cool, イケてる is a more colloquial, slangy way to describe someone who is 'hot' or 'with it'.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say someone was cool, replace the final い with かった to get かっこよかった. To say someone is not cool, replace the final い with くない to get かっこよくない. You can also make a statement sound friendlier and encourage agreement by adding ね or よね to the end of a sentence.
Did you know?
- While かっこいい is common, the older generation might use 粋な いきな to describe a specifically refined, traditional type of 'cool'.
- In Japanese pop culture, the 'cool' aesthetic often emphasizes ギャップ, or a 'gap', such as a tough person doing something unexpectedly cute.
- The word かっこいい literally translates to 'good shape' or 'good appearance'. It is a combination of かっこう, meaning 'appearance' or 'form', and the adjective いい, meaning 'good'.
Examples in context
- あの人はとてもかっこいいですね。That person looks very cool.
- 彼はすごくかっこいいですね。He is incredibly cool.
- あの人、めちゃくちゃかっこいいよな！That person is ridiculously cool, right!
- あの人、イケてるね！That person is cool, huh!
- 彼、カッコいいじゃん！He is so cool!
- あの人、かっこいいね！That person is cool, right?
- 彼女はすごくかっこいい！She is extremely cool!
- あの俳優はすごくかっこいい。Ano haiyuu wa sugoku kakkoii.That actor is very cool.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a person they saw on TV.
- 健太 Kentaさっきの歌手、かっこいいね！Sakki no kashu, kakkoii ne!That singer just now was cool, wasn't he!
- 陽葵 Himariうん、本当にかっこいいと思う。Un, hontou ni kakkoii to omou.Yeah, I think he is really cool.
- 健太 Kenta歌い方もかっこいいよね。Utaikata mo kakkoii yo ne.His singing style is cool too, right?
- 陽葵 Himariそうだね、すごくかっこいいよ。Sou da ne, sugoku kakkoii yo.That's true, he is very cool.
