Sugoi (すごい): meaning and the casual sugee
すごい
すごい · sugoi
Sugoi means "amazing", "incredible" or "great". On its own, すごい！ is a "Wow!" It can also mean "very", even when the thing you’re describing is bad.
Word by word
| すごい | すごい | amazing; terrible; tremendous (an i-adjective, also written 凄い) |
Rough speech, adverbs and polite compliments
Shounen heroes constantly use すげえ (sugee), a rough form mostly used by men. The adverb is すごく (sugoku), "very", as in すごく寒い, "really cold". For a polite compliment, there’s すごいですね.
When sugoi isn’t praise
Its original sense is "overwhelming". That’s why すごい雨 means heavy rain, without suggesting there’s anything amazing about it.
More examples
- すごい！ 本当にできた！ sugoi! hontou ni dekita! — Amazing! It actually worked!
- すげえな、お前。 sugee na, omae. — You're something else, man.
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