Find English Teachers
mimi
equivalent word in English? - すごいSugoi?
Hey, I have a question...
Long time ago, I was texting with someone who was studying Japanese.
He told me a story from his childhood, which was quite shocking to me, so I said "すごい (sugoi)".
It meant neither "great" nor "awesome", but he misunderstood and thought I liked the story.
すごい doesn't always mean "great" or "awesome". It depends on the situation, but sometimes this word expresses disgust, too. In this case, I was like "oh my god... how could you do that?" or something like that.
And I am wondering if there is an equivalent word in English... is there?
Nov 18, 2015 7:07 AM
Answers · 6
@Zsuzsanna I see that you are not native, but maybe you are right. Thanks! :D
January 6, 2016
I'm thinking about 'terrific' - the word has a double meaning, great, and something like shocking or terrible.
January 5, 2016
@Charles Can I say just "so" or "really"? I guess I need to add an adjective after those. Am I wrong? すごい can mean "very", but you can use it alone, too, and it doesn't always mean awesome.
December 8, 2015
"so " or "really ".
You are right. I remember a dialogue with strangers in Shibuya that ended with すげ偉そう (so self important / too pride of oneself ).
I would translate this すごい/すげ by the negative meaning in English of "so " or "really ".
December 7, 2015
@Tyler I couldn't find the word,, "woah" in the dictionary, but I'll remember that. Thanks! :D
November 19, 2015
Show more
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
mimi
Language Skills
English, Hungarian, Japanese
Learning Language
English, Hungarian
Articles You May Also Like

The Power of Storytelling in Business Communication
44 likes · 9 Comments

Back-to-School English: 15 Must-Know Phrases for the Classroom
31 likes · 6 Comments

Ten Tourist towns in Portugal that nobody remembers
59 likes · 23 Comments
More articles