すごい (sugoi) means extraordinary or intense; it can describe something impressive or something alarming. The usual adverbial form is すごく. Colloquial speech also uses すごい before an adjective, while 凄い can describe frightening intensity as well as remarkable scale.
also sugoku / sugee / sugokatta / 凄い
amazing · incredible · awful · an enormous amount of
Sentences
6 sentences, word by word
〜はすごい · the plain verdict
plain
、。
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この
この
this ＋ noun
determiner · この needs a noun after it, これ stands alone
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絵
え ［1］
painting; picture
noun · one character, one mora — the whole word is just え
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すごい
すごい ［2］
amazing
い-adjective · the plain verdict, praise because the noun deserves it
すごいN4amazing; off the scale
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ね
ね
isn't it — shared reaction
particle · invites the listener to agree with the verdict
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This painting is amazing.
すごい ＋ 名詞 · intensity, not praise
plain past
。
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昨日
きのう ［2］
yesterday
noun used adverbially · needs no particle for time
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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すごい
すごい ［2］
a tremendous amount of
い-adjective before a noun · here it measures, it does not praise
すごいN4an enormous amount of
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雨
あめ ［1］
rain
noun · 雨が降る is the set phrase
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だった
だった
was
plain past of だ · the copula carries the tense here
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There was a terrible amount of rain yesterday.
すごく ＋ 形容詞 · the textbook adverb
plain
。
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この
この
this ＋ noun
determiner · points at the place you are in or just named
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店
みせ ［2］
shop; restaurant
noun · any place that sells — a restaurant counts
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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ラーメン
ラーメン
ramen
noun · katakana because it arrived from Chinese 拉麺
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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すごく
すごく ［2］
extremely
adverbial form of すごい · the correct way to boost an adjective
すごくN4extremely
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美味しい
おいしい ［0,3］
delicious
い-adjective · 美 beautiful ＋ 味 taste
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The ramen at this place is extremely good.
すごい ＋ 形容詞 · the colloquial adverb
plain
、。
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それ
それ
that one
pronoun · the thing near the listener, or just mentioned
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すごい
すごい ［2］
really (colloquial)
plain form doing すごく's job · common in speech, colloquial in writing
すごいN4really — colloquial
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高い
たかい ［2］
expensive
い-adjective · high, and for prices, high in cost
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ね
ね
right? — seeking agreement
particle · softens the complaint into a shared one
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That's really expensive.
すげえ · the rough deformation
plain
「」。
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兄
あに ［1］
my older brother
noun · the humble word for your own brother; his is お兄さん
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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すげえ
すげえ
awesome (rough)
deformation of すごい · おい→ええ, the same habit as やばい→やべえ
すごいN4rough: すげえ
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しか
しか
nothing but
particle · only — and it demands a negative verb after it
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言わない
いわない
doesn't say
negative of 言う · with しか: says nothing except
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All my brother ever says is “sugee.”
すごい人 · the crowd, not the person
plain past
。
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コンサート
コンサート
concert
noun · katakana loan from English
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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すごい
すごい ［2］
an incredible number of
い-adjective · すごい人 is a set phrase for a huge crowd
すごいN4すごい人 = a huge crowd
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人
ひと ［0］
people
noun · singular in form, a crowd in this phrase
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だった
だった
was
plain past of だ · the whole scene gets summed up in one noun
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The concert was incredibly crowded.
Forms
What forms does すごい take?
Noun ＋ は/が＋すごい
The plain verdict: この絵はすごい. Past すごかった, negative すごくない, polite すごいです. A bare すごい！ with nothing around it is the everyday exclamation.
すごい＋Noun
In front of a noun it can praise (すごい演奏 an amazing performance) or just measure: すごい雨 a downpour, すごい音 a tremendous noise. Context decides — and with a place or event as topic, すごい人 means a crowd.
すごく＋Adjective / Verb
The adverb: すごく美味しい extremely tasty, すごく疲れた got really tired. This is the form to use in anything written.
すごい＋Adjective
すごい高い, すごい美味しい — the plain form doing the adverb's job. Dictionaries describe this adverbial use as colloquial. Use すごく in formal writing.
Meaning
すごい vs とても vs やばい — three ways to turn the volume up
すごい makes one claim: the thing in front of you is far beyond normal. Pointed at a performance it is praise; pointed at a storm it is awe; pointed at a crowd it is just a measurement. The direction comes from the noun, not from the word — which is why すごい傷 is a terrible wound and not an admirable one.
とても raises degree without reacting.とても高い states that the price is very high; すごく高い says the same number while raising an eyebrow at it. In flat written prose とても and 非常に are the safe intensifiers; すごく always sounds like somebody talking.
やばい is すごい with the safety off. Both flip between good and bad on tone alone, but やばい stays slang from top to bottom, while すごい is ordinary vocabulary a newsreader can say. When in doubt, すごい is the one that cannot embarrass you.
The exclamation is its own little grammar. A bare すごい！ or rough すげえ！ reacts to what just happened, the way English says “wow.” It needs no subject and no verb, and answering praise-fishing with it — すごいね — is one of the highest-frequency conversational moves in the language.
Inside the word
凄 — the dread underneath the compliment
凄 — すご(い) · ghastly, chilling
The kanji's own meanings are dreadful, lonely, chilling — it appears in 凄惨 gruesome and 凄まじい terrific in the old sense: terrifying. Classical すごし described things that made your blood run cold. The modern compliment kept the intensity and dropped the horror.
How dread became praise
The path is the same one English “terribly good” and “awfully nice” took: a word for fear gets borrowed to mean to a frightening degree, and then the degree outlives the fright. すごい finished the journey so completely that the praise reading is now the default — but the old sense still surfaces every time it fronts a storm or a wound.
すごい — accent ［2］
Low on す, high on ご, and down again on い — the drop is after the second mora, and すごく keeps it in the same place. The rough すげえ flattens the vowels but keeps the early fall. In writing it is almost always kana; 凄い reads as deliberately bookish.
Watch out
Where すごい goes wrong
Reading すごい人 as “a great person”
彼はすごい人だ really is “he's an amazing person” — but when the topic is a place or an event, the same phrase measures the crowd: コンサートはすごい人だった says the venue was packed, not that someone impressive attended. The noun in front of すごい人 tells you which reading you are holding.
Writing すごい高い in anything formal
The plain form used adverbially is colloquial; すごく is safer in formal writing. An essay, a work email, anything with です・ます — use すごく, or step up to 非常に. The colloquial form in writing reads like a transcript of talking.
Trusting すごい to mean the thing was good
すごい傷 is a terrible wound; すごい音 is a frightening noise. The word only promises scale. If you need the praise to be unambiguous, すばらしい commits to it — すごい never quite does.
Also asked
Questions people ask about すごい
What does すごい (sugoi) actually mean?
Far beyond normal — in whichever direction the thing being described points. すごい演奏 is an amazing performance, すごい嵐 is a dreadful storm, and すごい人 is simply an enormous crowd. English needs three words — amazing, awful, enormous — for what Japanese does with one.
すごい or すごく — which one goes in front of an adjective?
すごく is the grammatical answer: すごく高い. But すごい高い is what a large share of speakers actually say, the same way English speakers say “real good.” Understand both, write only すごく.
What does すげえ mean, and can I say it?
It is すごい with the おい collapsed to ええ — rough, mostly male, and the standard bare exclamation of being impressed among friends. It is not offensive, but it is the register of a locker room, not an office. If in doubt, すごい does the same job everywhere.
すごい or やばい?
Both flip between good and bad, but やばい is slang everywhere it goes, while すごい is plain vocabulary any generation can use in nearly any room. やばい is also stronger — closer to “insane” than to “amazing.”
Is すごい ever negative?
Constantly — that is the half the dictionary undersells. The kanji 凄 means ghastly, and the word still fronts disasters as readily as triumphs: すごい熱 a terrible fever, すごい渋滞 horrendous traffic. The noun decides; すごい only turns the dial up.
How is すごい read, and what is the pitch?
すごい, accent ［2］: low す, high ご, and the fall lands on い. すごく keeps the same early drop. The kanji spelling 凄い exists but everyday writing uses kana.
References
Sources and usage notes
Digital Daijisen, 凄い — Defines frightening and exceptional intensity and notes colloquial adverbial use.
