Good or no good

Stage 1Versatile adjectivesChunk 5 of 26 · items 19–22 of 484

The four basic verdicts (good, OK, no good, bad) that answer 'is this all right?' about anything.

Mix-ups

ii and daijoubu both mean 'OK' and both turn down offers (ii desu / daijoubu desu = no thanks). The shared frame keeps them apart: kore de ii? asks for approval, kore de daijoubu? asks if anything is wrong, and dame flips the frame to kore ja dame?

ii

polite ii desudrama rank #24

good, fine, OK

いいPlay いいですPlay

The default positive verdict on anything, and 'fine, acceptable' when checking (kore de ii?). When choosing, X ga ii = I'd like X, and X de ii = X will do. It is also the core of -te mo ii (may) and -ta hou ga ii (should).

casualPlay

kore de ii?

Is this OK?

これでいい？

politePlay

kore de ii desu ka?

Is this OK?

これでいいですか？

Only the dictionary form is ii; every other form uses yo-: yokatta, yokunai, yokute. As a reply, ii yo = sure, go ahead, but ii desu to an offer usually means no thanks; accept with onegaishimasu. Choosing a gift or dish, say kore ga ii: kore de ii sounds like settling.

Learn alongside: daijoubu, dame

daijoubu

polite daijoubu desudrama rank #76

okay, fine, all right

大丈夫 だいじょうぶPlay 大丈夫ですPlay

Says someone or something is OK, safe or not a problem; it is how you check on people (daijoubu?), and daijoubu desu politely declines an offer.

casualPlay

kore de daijoubu?

Will this be all right?

これで大丈夫？

politePlay

kore de daijoubu desu ka?

Will this be all right?

これで大丈夫ですか？

To an offer it usually means 'no thanks' (fukuro wa? / daijoubu desu), but it can also mean 'yes, that's fine', so clerks may check again. To accept clearly, say onegaishimasu.

Learn alongside: ii, dame

dame

polite dame desudrama rank #596*

no good, not allowed

ダメ だめPlay ダメですPlay

Says something is no good, won't work or isn't allowed (rules, plans, broken things, hopeless efforts), and is the base of -cha dame (must not).

casualPlay

kore ja dame?

Won't this do?

これじゃダメ？

politePlay

kore ja dame desu ka?

Won't this do?

これじゃダメですか？

In the 'is this OK?' frame, de ii becomes ja dame: kore de ii? / kore ja dame?

Learn alongside: ii, daijoubuLearn first: ii

warui

polite warui desudrama rank #139

bad, at fault

悪い わるいPlay 悪いですPlay

Bad in quality, weather, health (guai ga warui) or behaviour, and 'to blame' (X ga warui); the opposite of ii.

casualPlay

kyou, chotto guai warui n da

I'm not feeling great today.

今日、ちょっと具合悪いんだ

politePlay

kyou wa chotto guai ga warui n desu

I'm not feeling well today.

今日はちょっと具合が悪いんです

Casual apology: warui! or warui ne (mostly male), and warui kedo... (sorry, but...), which everyone uses. The polite equivalent is sumimasen / sumimasen ga..., never warui desu.

Learn first: ii