偉い (erai) means “admirable” or “important,” and can also intensify something as “terribly.” It can praise effort or describe someone of high rank. Praising a superior with 偉いですね may sound as if you are evaluating them, so context matters. 偉そう means acting self-important.
also erai / erakatta / 偉そう / 偉い人
well done, good for you · important, high-ranking · severe, terrible
Sentences
6 sentences, word by word
偉い · praising a child
plain
？。
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一人
ひとり ［2］
alone; by yourself
noun · 一人で means without help
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で
で
in; at — where it happens
particle · where the action happens, or the manner it happens in
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宿題
しゅくだい ［0］
homework
noun · 宿題をする to do it
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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やった
やった
did; finished
past of やる · casual alternative to する
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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偉い
えらい ［2］
well done; good for you
い-adjective · praise for the effort, said downward
偉いN3admirable · well done
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ね
ね
seeking agreement
particle · softens the praise into something shared
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You did all your homework by yourself? Good for you.
偉い人 · the rank sense
polite
、。
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明日
あした ［3］
tomorrow
noun used adverbially · あす is the formal reading
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本社
ほんしゃ ［1］
head office
noun · 本 main ＋ 社 company
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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偉い
えらい ［2］
senior; high-ranking
い-adjective · rank only, no judgement of character
偉いN3important · high-ranking
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人
ひと ［0］
person
noun · deliberately vague about who exactly
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が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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来る
くる ［1］
is coming
dictionary form of 来る · irregular verb
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らしい
らしい
apparently; I hear
hearsay auxiliary · reporting what you were told
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です
です
polite copula
copula · らしい takes です directly
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Apparently someone senior from head office is coming tomorrow.
偉そう · acting big
plain
。
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偉そう
えらそう ［3］
acting big; condescending
偉い ＋ そう · the appearance form, always a complaint
偉いN3important · admirable
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に
に
adverbial marker
particle · そう behaves as a な-adjective, so に not く
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言う
いう ［0］
say; talk
dictionary form · needed before the な prohibition
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な
な
don't
prohibitive particle · blunt, and men use it far more
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よ
よ
pressing final particle
particle · pushes the prohibition at the listener
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Don't act so high and mighty.
偉かった · looking back on it
plain past
。
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去年
きょねん ［1］
last year
noun used adverbially · no particle needed
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たばこ
たばこ
cigarettes; smoking
noun · usually kana; 煙草 in kanji
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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やめた
やめた
quit; stopped
past of やめる · やめる quit, 止まる stop by itself
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自分
じぶん ［0］
myself
reflexive noun · works for any person
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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偉かった
えらかった
did well
past of 偉い · praising your own past self
偉いN3admirable · well done
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と
と
quotative
particle · marks the thought that follows
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思う
おもう ［2］
think
dictionary form · 思う holds an opinion
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I quit smoking last year — I'm quite proud of myself.
さすが · praising upward instead
polite
、。
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さすが
さすが
just as you'd expect; impressive
adverb · admiration for someone living up to a reputation
さすがN2as expected · impressive
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部長
ぶちょう ［0］
department manager
noun · a title, and used in place of the person's name
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五分
ごふん ［0］
five minutes
counter · 分 is ふん or ぷん depending on the number
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で
で
in; at — where it happens
particle · where the action happens, or the manner it happens in
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解決
かいけつ ［0］
resolution; solving it
noun · 解決する to resolve
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です
です
polite copula
copula · noun-final sentence, common in speech
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ね
ね
seeking agreement
particle · inviting the listener to share the admiration
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That's our manager for you — sorted in five minutes.
えらいこと · the severe sense
plain past
。
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えらい
えらい
terrible; serious
い-adjective · the severe or extreme sense, not praise
偉いN3terrible · admirable
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こと
こと
the act of; the fact of
noun · turns the verb in front into a noun
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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なって
なって
has become and
て-form of なる · a change of state you did not choose
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しまった
しまった
unfortunately; irreversibly
てしまう in past · regret about the outcome
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This has turned into a real mess.
Forms
The three frames 偉い appears in
偉い＋ね / よ
偉いね. Well done. Said to children constantly, and to adults as light, warm praise between equals or downward.
偉い＋人 / 先生 / おじさん
偉い人が来る. Someone senior is coming. Pure rank — it says nothing about whether they are admirable.
偉＋そう（に）
偉そうに言うな. Don't talk down to me. Appearance-そう on an adjective drops the い, and this one is always a complaint.
えらい＋こと / 目
えらいことになった. It can also mean severe, extreme, or extreme — a completely separate thread from the praise.
Meaning
偉い vs すごい vs 立派
偉い praises the discipline behind the act. Getting up at five, finishing the homework nobody was checking, admitting a mistake. It is about character shown through effort, not about talent.
すごい reacts to the scale of the thing. A stunning performance is すごい whether or not it cost the performer anything. If you are impressed rather than proud, that is the word you want.
立派 is formal admiration.立派な建物, an impressive building; 立派な大人, a fine adult. It works upward where 偉い does not, which makes it the safe choice in a speech.
The direction matters more than the word. Telling your boss 偉いですね sounds like you are grading them. さすがですね or 勉強になります praise upward without the condescension.
Inside the kanji
偉 — greatness with a person in it
偉 — the person radical
The left side is 亻, the person radical, which immediately tells you this character is about people rather than things. That matters here: in its praise sense 偉い sizes up a person rather than a thing — the えらいこと and えらい目 uses below are a different sense.
偉大 — the formal cousin
偉大な means great in the historical sense — 偉大な発明, a great invention. It is written, formal, and would sound absurd said to a child who tidied their room.
Appearance-そう on adjectives
偉い → 偉そう follows the general rule: drop the い, add そう for how something looks. 美味しそう looks tasty, 難しそう looks hard. Here it means looks big-headed.
Watch out
Where 偉い goes wrong
Saying 偉いですね to your boss
It sounds like you are marking their work. Praise upward with さすがですね or 勉強になります, both of which position you as the one learning.
Reading 偉い人 as “a good person”
It means high-ranking, and it is often mildly ironic — 偉い人が決めたことだから, because the people upstairs decided. Nothing about their character is implied.
Missing the Kansai sense
えらいことになった is not praise. In Kansai and in older speech えらい means terrible or extreme, and it still shows up in that fixed phrase nationwide.
Also asked
Questions people ask about 偉い
Can I say 偉い to an adult?
Between friends and equals, yes — it lands as warm, slightly teasing praise. Aimed at a superior it becomes condescending, because you are grading someone who outranks you.
What's the difference between 偉い and すごい?
偉い credits the discipline it took; すごい reacts to how impressive the thing is. Someone who ran a marathon after a year of training gets both, for different reasons.
Does 偉い人 mean a good person?
No — it means someone senior, an executive, a decision-maker. Character is not part of it, and the phrase often carries a faint eye-roll about the people at the top.
What does 偉そう mean?
Acting big, talking down to people. It is 偉い plus appearance-そう, so literally “looks important,” and it is always a criticism.
How do I praise someone senior without 偉い?
さすがですね — that's what I'd expect from you — or 勉強になります, I'm learning from this. Both admire without implying you are in a position to assess them.
Why does えらい sometimes mean terrible?
It is a longstanding sense also heard beyond Kansai, including fixed phrases like えらい目に遭った, I had an awful time. The common thread is “extreme” — which drifted toward admirable in the standard language and toward dreadful in the west.
