かっこいい

• 読み: かっこいい
• ローマ字: kakkoii
• 発音: /kak.ko.iː/

意味

Cool, handsome, or attractive — the go-to compliment for someone or something that looks impressive or stylish.

One of the most essential Japanese compliments, かっこいい covers everything from a person's looks to their car, guitar solo, or brave actions. Originally from 格好いい (good appearance), the colloquial かっこいい spelling has become standard. It applies to both people and things, and while it traditionally described men, modern usage extends to women, objects, and abstract concepts like ideas or decisions.

例文

1. あの人めっちゃかっこよくない？誰だろ。
2. ギター弾けるのかっこいいなぁ。
3. 新しいスニーカーかっこいいじゃん、似合ってるよ。

使い方ガイド

場面: friends, daily life, compliments, reactions

トーン: admiring, complimentary

正しい言い方

• そのバイクかっこいいね！何CC？ (That bike is so cool! What CC?)
• 夢に向かって頑張ってるのかっこいいよ (It's cool that you're working hard towards your dream)

避ける言い方

• 初対面の年上女性に「かっこいいですね」は微妙 (Telling an older woman you just met 'kakkoii desu ne' can feel odd — 素敵ですね is safer)

よくある間違い

• Thinking かっこいい only applies to men — it can describe women, objects, actions, and ideas too
• Using the full 格好いい in casual speech — かっこいい is the natural spoken form

起源と歴史

From 格好いい (good form/appearance), contracted to かっこいい in colloquial speech. Has been a core vocabulary word for decades, widely used since at least the 1960s-1970s.

文化的背景

時代: Established since 1960s-1970s, evergreen vocabulary

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal

地域メモ: Used across all of Japan. One of the first Japanese compliments learners encounter. The opposite かっこ悪い (uncool/lame) is also common. Variations include かっけー (rougher male speech) and カッコいい (mixed katakana/hiragana).