すごい
sugoi[sɨɡo̞i]
In Japanese, "this is amazing" is expressed as すごい (sugoi).
すごい is an expression used to show strong admiration or surprise at something impressive. It often functions as an intensifier. Depending on the context and your tone, it can mean "amazing," "great," or "terrible," or even "awful." This dual nature allows it to describe any extreme, whether positive or negative. If something is so amazing that it moves or touches you emotionally, you might use 感動した instead.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
There are several ways to express this depending on your social setting. For a casual and common way to say "amazing," use すごい！ In formal settings or when speaking to strangers and superiors, use the polite form すごいです. Among close friends, you may encounter the slang version すげー, which is a very colloquial and masculine-coded way to say "amazing" or "awesome." If something amazing is also particularly interesting or fascinating, you can use 面白いです.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say "it's very amazing," you can use totemo sugoi desu.
How do you pronounce it?
sugoi
Did you know?
- While すごい is now almost always positive, it originally meant 'terrible' or 'frightening' in the sense of something so powerful it inspired dread.
- In certain contexts, particularly in older or more traditional Japanese, the root of すごい can carry a nuance of something being 'supernatural' or 'god-like'. It describes a power that transcends the ordinary.
- In casual speech, Japanese people often elongate the end of the word to すごーい to express a sense of awe or disbelief.
Examples in context
- この景色、すごい！Kono keshiki, sugoi!This view is amazing!
- 彼の料理はすごい。Kare no ryouri wa sugoi.His cooking is amazing.
Example conversation
Ren and Yui are looking at a beautiful sunset at the beach.
- 蓮 Ren結衣、見て！Yui, mite!Yui, look!
- 結衣 Yuiわあ、すごい！Waa, sugoi!Wow, this is amazing!
- 蓮 Ren本当にきれいだね。Hontou ni kirei da ne.It is truly beautiful, isn't it?
- 結衣 Yui蓮、最高の景色だよ。Ren, saikou no keshiki da yo.Ren, this is the best view.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry すごい, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
