すごい

すごい
adjective (i-adjective)
amazing, incredible
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Presentすごいすごくない
Pastすごかったすごくなかった
て formすごくてすごくなくて
Adverbialすごく—
Conditional ばすごければすごくなければ
Conditional たらすごかったらすごくなかったら
1. amazing, incredible, awesome
Expressing that something is impressive, remarkable, or extraordinary. Very commonly used in casual conversation.
すごい！上手(じょうず)ですね。
Amazing! You're so good at it.
Common exclamation
すごい人(ひと)がたくさんいますね。
There are so many people!
Meaning 'a lot' or 'extreme'
あの映画(えいが)はすごかった。
That movie was amazing.
彼女(かのじょ)は語学(ごがく)の才能(さいのう)がすごくて、五(ご)か国語(こくご)も話(はな)せるんだって。
She has an incredible talent for languages—apparently she can speak five languages.
すごい景色(けしき)だね！
What an amazing view!
2. terrible, dreadful
Originally meant something frightening or extreme (can still be used this way).
台風(たいふう)の風(かぜ)がすごくて、外(そと)に出(で)られなかった。木(き)も何本(なんぼん)か倒(たお)れたらしい。
The typhoon winds were terrible, so we couldn't go outside. Apparently several trees fell over too.
Uses sense 2: terrible/dreadful
雨(あめ)がすごくて出(で)られない。
The rain is so bad I can't go out.
すごい音(おと)がしたけど、何(なに)？
There was a terrible noise—what was that?
渋滞(じゅうたい)がすごかった。
The traffic jam was terrible.
すごい暑(あつ)さだ。
The heat is intense.

すごい has two core meanings: (1) amazing/impressive (positive) and (2) terrible/extreme (negative). Context determines which sense is intended.

FORMS:

  • すごくない (negative)
  • すごくて (te-form)
  • すごかった (past)
  • The kanji 凄(すご)い exists but hiragana is far more common.

AS AN INTENSIFIER:
すごく functions as an adverb meaning "very/extremely": すごくおいしい (very delicious), すごく寒(さむ)い (extremely cold). In casual speech, すごい is also used directly before adjectives instead of すごく, though this is grammatically non-standard.

CASUAL VARIANTS:

  • すげー / すげえ: rough masculine slang
  • すっごい: emphatic form

REGISTER:
Very common in casual speech. One of the most frequently used exclamations in Japanese.

core
Added 2026.1.7 21:44 · Revised 2026.3.27 9:47
01000/01128_sugoi