Good in Japanese: yoi, explained with its major conjugations

How to say “good” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “yoi”. In speaking, they would say “ii” more often which sounds more colloquial. Interestingly, the colloquial version is always in the plain form. So, there is not much to explain about it. In this blog post, therefore, I will focus on “yoi” and its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “yoi”
  • Example #1: how to say “good” in Japanese
• Nai form of “yoi”
  • Example #2: how to say “not good” in Japanese
• Ta form of “yoi”
  • Example #3: how to use the past tense form of “yoi”
• Te form of “yoi”
  • Example #4: how to use “yoi” before another adjective
• Ba form of “yoi”
  • Example #5: how to use “yokereba”
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “yoi”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “yoi”.

• yoi – 良い (よい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘good’, ‘well’, ‘fine’, ‘nice’, or such in Japanese.

It has some meanings, but these have the same concept. Then, let me explain how to use this i-adjective through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “good” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• kangae – 考え (かんがえ) : a noun meaning ‘idea’ or such in Japanese.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “ii kangae”, to make the object in the sentence.
• mot – 持っ (もっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “motsu”, which means ‘to have’ or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form. In the example, this is used after “mot” to make its te form, “mot te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “iru”.
• iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by the preceding verb. In the example, this is used after the te-formed verb, “mot te”, to express the continuity of its action, ‘to have’.

This is a typical usage of “yoi”. In the example, it works as a modifier before “kangae” to say “a good idea” in Japanese. Like other adjectives, it can also work as a complement in a sentence. It’s worth knowing.

In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain major conjugations of “yoi”. The first one is “yokunai”.

Nai form of “yoi”

Below are the definition and meanings of “yokunai”.

• yokunai – 良くない (よくない) : the nai form of “yoi”, meaning ‘not good’, ‘not well’, ‘not fine’, or such in Japanese.

This nai form consists of the following two parts:

• yoku – 良く (よく) : one conjugation of “yoi”. This can have the better connection with “nai”.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is similar to that of “not”.

From these two components, we can understand that “yokunai” is literally the nai form of “yoi” and means ‘not good’, ‘not well’, ‘not fine’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this nai form through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “not good” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “kare” to make its possessive case, “kare no”, which means ‘his’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “yokunai”. When we want to say “not good” in Japanese, this nai form is a very good choice.

Ta form of “yoi”

Below are the definition and meanings of “yokatta”.

• yokatta – 良かった (よかった) : the ta form of “yoi”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was good’, ‘were good’, or such in Japanese.

This ta form consists of the following two parts:

• yokat – 良かっ (よかっ) : one conjugation of “yoi”. This can have the better connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ta form.

From these two components, we can understand that “yokatta” is literally the ta form of “yoi”. In Japanese, ta forms of verbs and adjectives can work as their past tense forms. So, we can say “yokatta” to mean ‘was good’, ‘were good’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this ta form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to use the past tense form of “yoi”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• sakuhin – 作品 (さくひん) : a noun meaning ‘work’, ‘artwork’, ‘product’, or such in Japanese.
• totemo – とても : an adverb of degree, meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, ‘so’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this is used before “yokatta” to emphasize its meaning.

This is a typical usage of “yokatta”. When we want to say “was good” in Japanese, this ta form would be a very good choice.

Te form of “yoi”

Below are the definition and meanings of “yokute”.

• yokute – 良くて (よくて) : the te form of “yoi”, meaning ‘good’, ‘well’, ‘fine’, ‘nice’, or such in Japanese.

This te form consists of the following two parts:

• yoku – 良く (よく) : one conjugation of “yoi”. This can have the better connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.

A te form of an adjective can have a smooth connection with another adjective or a verb. So, “yokute” is very useful when we want to use adjectives in a row. Let me explain how to use it through the example below.

Example #4: how to use “yoi” before another adjective

Below are the new words used in the example.

• yasui – 安い (やすい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘cheap’ in Japanese.
• kuruma – 車 (くるま) : a noun meaning ‘car’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “yokute”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with “yasui”. When we want to use “yoi” before another adjective or a verb, its te form is useful.

Ba form of “yoi”

Below are the definition and meanings of “yokereba”.

• yokereba – 良ければ (よければ) : the ba form of “yoi”, used to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘good’, ‘well’, or such in Japanese.

This ba form consists of the following two parts:

• yokere – 良けれ (よけれ) : one conjugation of “yoi”. This can have the better connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.

In Japanese, ba forms of verbs and adjectives can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “yokereba” to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘good’, ‘well’, ‘fine’, or such. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to use “yokereba”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• tenki – 天気 (てんき) : a noun meaning ‘weather’ in Japanese.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “tenki” to make the subject in the conditional clause.
• umi – 海 (うみ) : a noun meaning ‘sea’ in Japanese.
• ni – に : a case particle used to indicate a place to which someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “umi” to say where “I” will go.
• iki – 行き (いき) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku”, which means ‘to go’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form. In the example, this is used after “iki” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “yokereba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause which means ‘if the weather is good’. When we want to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘good’, ‘well’, or such in Japanese, this ba forms is useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the i-adjective, “yoi”, and its major conjugations. And I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• yoi – 良い (よい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘good’, ‘well’, ‘fine’, ‘nice’, or such in Japanese. This can work as both a modifier and a complement.
• yokunai – 良くない (よくない) : the nai form of “yoi”, meaning ‘not good’, ‘not well’, ‘not fine’, or such in Japanese.
• yokatta – 良かった (よかった) : the ta form of “yoi”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was good’, ‘were good’, or such in Japanese.
• yokute – 良くて (よくて) : the te form of “yoi”, meaning ‘good’, ‘well’, ‘fine’, ‘nice’, or such in Japanese. This can have a smooth connection with another adjective or a verb. When we want to use “yoi” before another adjective, this is useful.
• yokereba – 良ければ (よければ) : the ba form of “yoi”, used to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘good’, ‘well’, or such in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.