Which one should you use?
While すごい is the standard form, you may encounter other variations. すげー is a highly colloquial, masculine-coded slang version used among close friends. ヤバい is another informal option used to mean "Incredible!" or "Wow!" For much more intense emphasis, the form めちゃくちゃすげえ can be used to mean "Wow!"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The level of formality changes based on how you end the word. すごい is the standard form. To make it appropriate for speaking to strangers or superiors, you can add the polite copula to create すごいです. In very casual settings with close friends, you might hear the slang すげー or the informal ヤバい. In formal situations, more structured phrases like 素晴らしいですね (It's wonderful, isn't it?) or 驚くべきですね (It's astonishing!) are used.
How do you pronounce it?
sugoi
Did you know?
- The word すごい originally meant 'terrible' or 'dreadful' in classical Japanese. It functioned much like the English word 'awful', which originally meant 'full of awe' but shifted to a negative meaning over time.
- The slang term ヤバい (yabai), often used interchangeably with 'amazing', actually originated from a word meaning 'dangerous' or 'risky'. It moved from describing a bad situation to describing something so intense it is almost 'dangerous' to the senses.
- In casual conversation, すごい is often used as an adverb to mean 'very' or 'really' even when the thing being described is not actually 'amazing'. For example, saying すごい寒い means 'it is really cold'.
Examples in context
- わあ、すごい！Waa, sugoi!Wow, amazing!
- この景色、すごいね。Kono keshiki, sugoi ne.This scenery is amazing, isn't it?
- 彼は本当にすごいです。Kare wa hontou ni sugoi desu.He is truly amazing.
Example conversation
Kenta and Misaki are looking at a beautiful sunset at the beach.
- 健太 Kenta見て、あの夕日、すごいよ！Mite, ano yuuhi, sugoi yo!Look, that sunset is amazing!
- 美咲 Misaki本当、すごいね。Hontou, sugoi ne.Really, it's amazing.
- 健太 Kenta美咲、感動した？Misaki, kandou shita?Misaki, were you moved?
- 美咲 Misakiうん、すごくきれい。Un, sugoku kirei.Yes, it's very beautiful.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry すごい, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
