What does "sugoi" mean in Japanese
"Sugoi" (すごい) means "cool, amazing, great." It's a universal reaction of admiration: from a beautiful view to someone else's achievement. In speech, it's often shortened to すげー (sugē) — rough and masculine. The polite version is すごいですね (sugoi desu ne).
すごい is the Japanese "wow," and it beats all adjectives in frequency. Originally, the word meant "terrible, chilling to the bone," and a trace of that remains: people admire things as if what they saw slightly frightens them with its power.
What "sugoi" means and how it's used
| Japanese | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| すごい | sugoi · sugoi | Cool, amazing |
| すごいですね | sugoi desu ne · sugoi desu ne | That's great! (polite, with elders) |
| すげー | sugē · sugē | Awesome (colloquial, more common among men) |
| すごく | sugoku · sugoku | Very, terribly (as an intensifier) (すごく好き — "really like") |
| さすが | sasuga · sasuga | Just as expected from you (admiration with respect) |
| やばい | yabai · yabai | Crazy, awesome / nightmare (youth slang, meaning depends on intonation) |
"Sugoi" as an intensifier
In the form すごく, the word works as "very": すごく寒い (sugoku samui) — "very cold," すごく美味しい — "very tasty." It's the same root, but grammatically it's an adverb, and there's no admiration in it — only intensity.
Sugoi, sasuga, yabai — how they differ
- すごい — general admiration: saw it, was impressed, said it.
- さすが — admiration for someone you knew as capable: "you never fail."
- やばい — youth slang, ambiguous: both "amazing" and "nightmare." Understood by intonation.
- かっこいい (kakkoii) — "cool" specifically about style and appearance, not about an action.
When it's better not to say "sugoi"
In a business setting, すごい sounds childish: there you'd say 素晴らしい (subarashii) — "excellent" or 見事です (migoto desu). And the shortened すげー in a conversation with your boss would sound about like the Russian "ofiget'" at a meeting.
FAQ
- What does "sugoi" mean in Japanese?
- すごい — "cool, amazing, great." A universal reaction of admiration; originally the word meant "terrible, chilling."
- How is "sugoi" different from "sugoku"?
- すごい is the adjective "amazing." すごく is the adverb "very": すごく寒い "very cold." The second simply intensifies, without admiration.
- And what does "sasuga" mean?
- さすが — "just as expected from you," admiration for someone who was already good before. Unlike すごい, it contains recognition of merit, not just emotion.
- How to express admiration politely?
- すごいですね (sugoi desu ne) in conversation, 素晴らしい (subarashii) — "excellent" in business speech. The shortened すげー is not used with superiors.
Updated: 2026-07-25