良(よ)い

よい
i-adjective
good, fine
colloquialdescriptive
See also: いい (casual/everyday form)
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present良(よ)い良(よ)くない
Past良(よ)かった良(よ)くなかった
て form良(よ)くて良(よ)くなくて
Adverbial良(よ)く—
Conditional ば良(よ)ければ良(よ)くなければ
Conditional たら良(よ)かったら良(よ)くなかったら
1. good, fine
Of high quality or standard.
天気(てんき)が良(よ)い。
The weather is good.
この店(みせ)は料理(りょうり)が良(よ)い。
This restaurant has good food.
景色(けしき)が良(よ)いですね。
The scenery is beautiful, isn't it?
彼(かれ)は頭(あたま)が良(よ)い。
He is smart.
体(からだ)に良(よ)い食(た)べ物(もの)を食(た)べよう。
Let's eat food that's good for the body.
2. all right, okay
Acceptable or permitted.
もう帰(かえ)っても良(よ)い。
You may go home now.
写真(しゃしん)を撮(と)っても良(よ)いですか。
May I take a photo?
ここに座(すわ)っても良(よ)いですか。
May I sit here?
食(た)べなくても良(よ)い。
You don't have to eat it.
明日(あした)でも良(よ)いですか。
Is tomorrow okay?

良(よ)い is an i-adjective meaning "good." Its irregular alternative いい is the ordinary form in everyday speech.

Usage

  • よい is the more formal, written, and older-sounding form; いい dominates conversation
  • よい persists in set phrases and greetings: よいお年(とし)を (have a good new year), 仲(なか)よく (on good terms)
  • Whichever dictionary form is used, everything else conjugates from よ-, never い-

Forms

Common patterns

Common collocations

Related Words

Antonym: 悪(わる)い (bad)
Compare: 不味(まず)い (bad-tasting, unappetizing)
basic
Added 2026.1.9 17:25 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
02000/02350_yoi