Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 良い | yoi | [jo̞i] (narrow) [e̞i] (narrow) |
| いい | ii | [iː] (narrow) |
These adjectives are used to describe something pleasant or enjoyable. If you wish to refer to the abstract concept of the forces of good, you would use the noun 善.
Which one should you use?
While 良い (yoi) and いい (ii) share the same meaning, いい is much more common in spoken conversation, whereas 良い is more common in written text or formal contexts.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When changing the adjective to an adverb to say 'well', you must use the form 良い (yoi) to create よく (yoku), rather than using the form いい. Similarly, when conjugating into the past tense, you must use the base 良い (yoi) to form the negative 'was not good' as よくなかった (yokunakatta).
How do you pronounce it?
yoi
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly try to conjugate the colloquial form いい (ii) into the past tense as いかった (ikatta). This is grammatically incorrect.
Did you know?
- In Japanese, saying いい (ii) to a host offering more tea can mean 'I am good' in the sense of 'no thank you'. This creates a paradox where the word for 'good' is used to signal a negative refusal.
- The common spoken word いい (ii) is the result of a long phonetic evolution that began with the Old Japanese word よし (yoshi) over a thousand years ago.
- Japanese has a unique grammatical quirk where the word いい (ii) is essentially 'broken' and cannot be conjugated on its own. To make it negative or past tense, the speaker must mentally swap it back to 良い (yoi) before adding suffixes.
Examples in context
- いい人です。He's a good person.This sentence is useful for describing a person using the form いい.Tatoeba #229344 by bunbuku, translation #2368 by CK
- いい考えだ。It's a good idea.This sentence is useful for describing an idea using the form いい.Tatoeba #3366812 by arnab, translation #3334010 by CK
- 景気が良い。The economy is good.This sentence is useful for describing the economy using the form 良い.Tatoeba #7558237 by Ninja, translation #1265409 by Scott
- その本はとても面白いですね。That book is very interesting, isn't it?
- この美術館の展示は素晴らしいです。The exhibition in this museum is wonderful.
- ごきげんよう。いい一日をお過ごしください。Good day. Have a nice day.
- 今日の天気は良いね。The weather today is good, isn't it?
- このカフェは雰囲気がいい感じだよ。This café has a good atmosphere.
- このケーキはとてもおいしい！This cake is very delicious!
- 882 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A man and a woman are talking while walking in a park.
- 大翔 Hiroto今日はとても天気が良いですね。Kyou wa totemo tenki ga yoi desu ne.The weather is very good today, isn't it?
- 陽葵 Himariはい、本当に天気が良いです。Hai, hontou ni tenki ga yoi desu.Yes, the weather really is good.
- 大翔 Hiroto陽葵さんは、散歩が好きですか？Himari-san wa, sanpo ga suki desu ka?Do you like walking, Himari?
- 陽葵 Himariはい、大好きです。Hai, daisuki desu.Yes, I love it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good” translations and entries 良い, いい, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries いい, 良い, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
