有名(ゆうめい)

有名(ゆうめい) is a na-adjective meaning famous or well-known.

Writing

有(ゆう) (have) + 名(めい) (name) = "having a name" (notable)

Forms

• 有名(ゆうめい)な + noun: famous (attributive)
• 有名(ゆうめい)だ/です: is famous (predicate)
• 有名(ゆうめい)じゃない: not famous
• 有名(ゆうめい)だった: was famous

Common patterns

• 〜で有名(ゆうめい): famous for ~
• 世界的(せかいてき)に有名(ゆうめい): world-famous
• 有名人(ゆうめいじん): celebrity, famous person

Antonym: 無名(むめい) (unknown, obscure)

〜で有名(ゆうめい) VS 〜として有名(ゆうめい):
で names what makes something famous — この町(まち)は桜(さくら)で有名(ゆうめい)です (famous for its cherry blossoms). として names the role or category it is famous in — 彼(かれ)は歌手(かしゅ)として有名(ゆうめい)です (famous as a singer, though he may do other things too).

有名(ゆうめい) VS 人気(にんき):
有名(ゆうめい) means many people know of it; 人気(にんき) means many people like it. The two come apart: a politician can be 有名(ゆうめい) without being 人気(にんき), and a neighborhood restaurant can be 人気(にんき) without being 有名(ゆうめい). 人気(にんき) is a noun, so it takes がある or 〜に人気(にんき)がある.

Register

有名(ゆうめい) itself is neutral — it can report unwelcome fame as easily as welcome fame, and 悪(わる)い意味(いみ)で有名(ゆうめい) (famous in a bad sense) is a common way to say notorious.