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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
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mimi
Language Skills
English, Hungarian, Japanese
Learning Language
English, Hungarian
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