良い

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
良
よ Grade: 4
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
善い 好い 吉い 佳い 宜い 可い

Modern form of Old Japanese adjective よし (yoshi).^[1][2][3]

/joɕi/ (classical 終止形 (shūshikei) or terminal form) → /joki/ (classical 連体形 (rentaikei) or attributive form) → /joi/ (modern shūshikei and rentaikei)

Alternative forms

• (classical Japanese) よし (yoshi), えし (eshi)
• (standard Japanese, more informal) いい (ii)
• (literary) えい (ei)
• (dialect) ええ (ē)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) よい [yóꜜì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2][4]
• IPA^(key): [jo̞i]

Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形)	良く	よく	[yóꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形)	良い	よい	[yóꜜì]
Attributive (連体形)	良い	よい	[yóꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative	良くない	よくない	[yóꜜkùnàì]
Informal past	良かった	よかった	[yóꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past	良くなかった	よくなかった	[yóꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal	良いです	よいです	[yóꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive	良くて	よくて	[yóꜜkùtè]
Conditional	良ければ	よければ	[yóꜜkèrèbà]

• Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「良い」

Adjective

良(よ)い • (yoi) -i (adverbial 良(よ)く (yoku))

1. good

   Antonyms: 悪い, 駄目

Usage notes

• Most often written in hiragana. The kanji spelling is generally reserved for more formal writing.

Inflection

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	良かろ	よかろ	yokaro
Continuative (連用形)	良く	よく	yoku
Terminal (終止形)	良い	よい	yoi
Attributive (連体形)	良い	よい	yoi
Hypothetical (仮定形)	良けれ	よけれ	yokere
Imperative (命令形)	良かれ	よかれ	yokare
Key constructions
Informal negative	良くない	よくない	yoku nai
Informal past	良かった	よかった	yokatta
Informal negative past	良くなかった	よくなかった	yoku nakatta
Formal	良いです	よいです	yoi desu
Formal negative	良くないです	よくないです	yoku nai desu
Formal past	良かったです	よかったです	yokatta desu
Formal negative past	良くなかったです	よくなかったです	yoku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	良くて	よくて	yokute
Conditional	良ければ	よければ	yokereba
Provisional	良かったら	よかったら	yokattara
Volitional	良かろう	よかろう	yokarō
Adverbial	良く	よく	yoku
Degree	良さ	よさ	yosa

Inflection of 良い

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	良く[1] 良から[2]	よく よから	yoku yokara
Continuative (連用形)	良く[1] 良かり[2]	よく よかり	yoku yokari
Terminal (終止形)	良し	よし	yosi
Attributive (連体形)	良き 良かる	よき よかる	yoki yokaru
Realis (已然形)	良けれ	よけれ	yokere
Imperative (命令形)	良かれ	よかれ	yokare
Key constructions
Negative	良からず	よからず	yokarazu
Contrasting conjunction	良けれど	よけれど	yokeredo
Causal conjunction	良ければ	よければ	yokereba
Conditional conjunction	良くば	よくば	yokuba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	良かりき	よかりき	yokariki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	良かりけり	よかりけり	yokarikeri
Adverbial	良く	よく	yoku
[1]Without auxiliary verb. [2]With auxiliary verb.

Classical conjugation of "良し" (ク活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

• When with the そう (-sō) suffix, it is よさそう (yosasō) instead of よそう (yosō).

Derived terms

• 頭(あたま)が良(よ)い (atama ga yoi), 頭(あたま)がよい (atama ga yoi): bright, intelligent

Suffix

良(よ)い • (-yoi) 

1. easy

Usage notes

• Most often written in hiragana. The kanji spelling is generally reserved for more formal writing.
• Attaches to the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of a verb. Example:

  読(よ)み良(よ)い ― yomiyoi ― easy to read

However, in modern Japanese, the adjective 安い, 易い (yasui, “easy, easygoing”) is more commonly used to express this meaning.

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
良
え Grade: 4
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
善い 好い

Phonetic shift from the Old Japanese yoshi form of yoi above. Already in use as early as the Nihon Shoki, circa 720,^[1][2][3] then becoming common in eastern Japanese from the Edo period.^[2] This form is now obsolete, though it may still be found in some dialects.

/joɕi/ (classical 終止形 (shūshikei) or terminal form) → /eɕi/ (classical 終止形 (shūshikei) or terminal form) → /eki/ (classical 連体形 (rentaikei) or attributive form) → /ei/ (modern shūshikei and rentaikei)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [e̞i]

Adjective

良(え)い • (ei) -i (adverbial 良(え)く (eku))

1. (obsolete) good

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
良
い Grade: 4
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
善い 好い

Phonetic shift from ei above. This is now the most common form used in casual spoken Japanese.^[1][2][3]

/ei/ → /ii/

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) いい [íꜜì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2][4]
• IPA^(key): [iː]

• Audio:

  (file)

Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形)	よく	よく	[yóꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形)	いい	いい	[íꜜì]
Attributive (連体形)	いい	いい	[íꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative	よくない	よくない	[yóꜜkùnàì]
Informal past	よかった	よかった	[yóꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past	よくなかった	よくなかった	[yóꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal	いいです	いいです	[íꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive	よくて	よくて	[yóꜜkùtè]
Conditional	よければ	よければ	[yóꜜkèrèbà]

• Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「いい」

Adjective

良(い)い • (ii) -i (adverbial 良(よ)く (yoku))

1. (colloquial, informal) good
2. (colloquial, predicative only) enough; not wanted any more.

   酒(さけ)はもういい

   sake wa mō ii

   I have had enough wine/I don't want any more wine.

Usage notes

• Most often written in hiragana. The kanji spelling is generally reserved for more formal writing.
• The ii 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 the yoi form above. 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; embarrassing", the ii form is preferred to the yoi form.

Inflection

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	よかろ	yokaro
Continuative (連用形)	よく	yoku
Terminal (終止形)	いい	ii
Attributive (連体形)	いい	ii
Hypothetical (仮定形)	よけれ	yokere
Imperative (命令形)	よかれ	yokare
Key constructions
Informal negative	よくない	yoku nai
Informal past	よかった	yokatta
Informal negative past	よくなかった	yoku nakatta
Formal	いいです	ii desu
Formal negative	よくないです	yoku nai desu
Formal past	よかったです	yokatta desu
Formal negative past	よくなかったです	yoku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	よくて	yokute
Conditional	よければ	yokereba
Provisional	よかったら	yokattara
Volitional	よかろう	yokarō
Adverbial	よく	yoku
Degree	よさ	yosa

Inflection of 良い

Derived terms

• 頭(あたま)が良(い)い (atama ga ii), 頭(あたま)がいい (atama ga ii): bright, intelligent

References

1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
4. 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