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いい. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
いい, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
いい in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
いい you have here. The definition of the word
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いい, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Japanese
Etymology 1
⟨yo2si⟩ → */jəsi/ → /joɕi/ → /joki/ → */joɣi/ → /joi/ → */jiː/ → /iː/
Ultimately a shift from 良い (yoi), classical 良し (yoshi).
Pronunciation
- Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「いい」
| Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
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| Stem forms
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| Continuative (連用形)
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よく
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よく
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| Terminal (終止形)
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いい
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いい
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| Attributive (連体形)
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いい
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いい
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| Key constructions
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| Informal negative
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よくない
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よくない
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| Informal past
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よかった
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よかった
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| Informal negative past
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よくなかった
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よくなかった
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| Formal
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いいです
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いいです
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| Conjunctive
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よくて
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よくて
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| Conditional
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よければ
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よければ
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Adjective
いい • (ii) -i (adverbial よく (yoku))
- (colloquial, informal) good
- (colloquial, predicative only) enough, not wanted any more
- 酒はもういい ― sake wa mō ii ― I have had enough wine.I don’t want any more wine.
- (ても~, て~) Indicates permission; can, may
Usage notes
- Most often written in this form. The kanji spelling 良い is generally reserved for more formal writing.
- This form does not inflect — it is only used in the 終止形 (shūshikei, “terminal form”) and 連体形 (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of ii. All other grammatical forms are based on 良い (yoi). Compare the 連用形 (ren’yōkei, “continuative or adverbial form”) yoku or the 過去形 (kakokei, “past tense”) yokatta; there is no *iku or *ikatta form.
- In ironic usages denoting “very bad” or “embarrassing”, this form is preferred to the yoi form.
Inflection
| Stem forms
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| Imperfective (未然形)
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よかろ
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yokaro
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| Continuative (連用形)
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よく
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yoku
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| Terminal (終止形)
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いい
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ii
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| Attributive (連体形)
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いい
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ii
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| Hypothetical (仮定形)
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よけれ
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yokere
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| Imperative (命令形)
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よかれ
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yokare
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| Key constructions
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| Informal negative
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よくない
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yoku nai
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| Informal past
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よかった
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yokatta
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| Informal negative past
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よくなかった
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yoku nakatta
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| Formal
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いいです
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ii desu
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| Formal negative
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よくないです
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yoku nai desu
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| Formal past
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よかったです
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yokatta desu
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| Formal negative past
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よくなかったです
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yoku nakatta desu
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| Conjunctive
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よくて
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yokute
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| Conditional
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よければ
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yokereba
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| Provisional
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よかったら
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yokattara
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| Volitional
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よかろう
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yokarō
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| Adverbial
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よく
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yoku
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| Degree
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よさ
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yosa
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Derived terms
Etymology 2
Verb
いい • (ii)
- stem or continuative form of いう (iu)
Etymology 3
| For pronunciation and definitions of いい – see the following entry.
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(This term, いい (ī), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as いい, see Category:Japanese kanji read as いい.)
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References
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN