偉(えら)い

えらい

i-adjective

great, remarkable; important; terrible

Conjugation

	Affirmative	Negative
Present	偉(えら)い	偉(えら)くない
Past	偉(えら)かった	偉(えら)くなかった
て form	偉(えら)くて	偉(えら)くなくて
Adverbial	偉(えら)く	—
Conditional ば	偉(えら)ければ	偉(えら)くなければ
Conditional たら	偉(えら)かったら	偉(えら)くなかったら

1. great, remarkable, admirable

Worthy of admiration for achievements or status.

彼(かれ)は偉(えら)い学者(がくしゃ)だ。

He is a great scholar.

偉(えら)いね！よく頑張(がんば)ったね。

Good job! You worked hard.

お母(かあ)さんは本当(ほんとう)に偉(えら)いと思(おも)う。

I really think my mother is admirable.

歴史(れきし)に残(のこ)る偉(えら)い発明家(はつめいか)。

A great inventor who will be remembered in history.

一人(ひとり)で全部(ぜんぶ)やったの？偉(えら)い！

You did it all by yourself? That's amazing!

2. important, high-ranking

Having high social or professional status.

会社(かいしゃ)で偉(えら)い人(ひと)になりたい。

I want to become an important person in the company.

お偉(えら)いさんが来(く)る。

A bigwig is coming.

偉(えら)い立場(たちば)の人(ひと)。

A person in an important position.

偉(えら)くなったものだ。

You've become quite the big shot.

偉(えら)い政治家(せいじか)たち。

Important politicians.

3. terrible, awful (colloquial)

Used to emphasize how bad or difficult something is.

今日(きょう)は偉(えら)く暑(あつ)いね。

It's awfully hot today, isn't it?

Colloquial usage

偉(えら)く疲(つか)れた。

I'm terribly tired.

偉(えら)い目(め)に遭(あ)った。

I had a terrible experience.

偉(えら)いことになった。

Things have gotten bad.

偉(えら)く時間(じかん)がかかった。

It took an awfully long time.

Forms

Adverb: 偉(えら)く (very, awfully - colloquial)
Noun form: 偉(えら)さ (greatness)

COMMON COLLOCATIONS (sense 1):

偉(えら)い人(ひと): a great/admirable person
偉(えら)いね！: Good job! Well done! (praise)

COMMON COLLOCATIONS (sense 2):

偉(えら)い人(ひと): an important/high-ranking person
お偉(えら)いさん: bigwig, VIP (slightly sarcastic)

COMMON COLLOCATIONS (sense 3):

偉(えら)く疲(つか)れた: I'm really tired
偉(えら)い目(め)に遭(あ)った: I had a terrible experience

USAGE (praise):

Praise with 偉(えら)いね points downward — to children, students, or juniors. Said to a boss or a 先生(せんせい) it sounds condescending; use 立派(りっぱ) or すごい there.
Calling yourself 偉(えら)い sounds boastful. The derived 偉(えら)そう ("acting important, stuck-up") is always critical.

Similar words

立派(りっぱ): splendid, admirable in conduct or appearance; more formal, not about rank
すごい: amazing, impressive; casual, about impact rather than worth
偉大(いだい): great in a historic sense, used of major figures and achievements

USAGE (regional):

In 関西(かんさい) and Tōkai speech, 偉(えら)い also means "exhausting, rough," covering ground that standard Japanese gives to 疲(つか)れる or つらい. Learners meet this mainly as 方言(ほうげん).

Related Words

Synonym: 立派(りっぱ) (splendid, admirable)

Related: すごい (amazing, impressive)

Related: 偉大(いだい) (great (historic))

Related: 腰(こし)が低(ひく)い (humble, modest, unassuming)

core

Added 2026.1.13 9:40 · Revised 2026.10.12 3:57

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