Kakkoii is the Japanese adjective for ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’

What does “kakkoii” mean in Japanese?

Japanese people say “kakkoii” to mean ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or just ‘cool’ in Japanese. In this blog post, I will explain this word in detail based on its components. And also, I will explain its major conjugations. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand the concept of this word and how to use it in conversations. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “kakkoii”
• Kanji expression for “kakkouii”
  • Example #1: how to say “handsome” in Japanese
• Nai form of “kakkoii”
  • Example #2: how to say “not handsome” in Japanese
• Ta form of “kakkoii”
  • Example #3: how to use the past tense form of “kakkoii”
• Te form of “kakkoii”
  • Example #4: how to use “kakkoii” before another adjective
• Ba form of “kakkoii”
  • Example #5: how to use “kakkoyokereba”
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “kakkoii”

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

• kakkoii – かっこいい : an i-adjective meaning ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese.

Japanese people use this i-adjective to express a person, especially a man, looking good. In daily conversations, they use the above pronunciation; however, its official pronunciation is “kakkouii”. The kanji expression for the official pronunciation tells us a lot about the concept behind this word. So, let me explain it in detail.

Kanji expression for “kakkouii”

Below is the kanji expression for “kakkouii”.

• kakkouii – 恰好良い/格好良い (かっこういい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese.

Both kanji expressions have the same meanings, but are subtly different. The first one is older; the second is more popular today. Yet, both consist of the following two parts:

• kakkou – 恰好/格好 (かっこう) : a noun meaning ‘appearance’ in Japanese.
• ii – 良い (いい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘good’ in Japanese. This can be considered as the colloquial version of “yoi“.

From these two components, we can understand that “kakkouii” literally means ‘appearance good’. This is the very basic concept lying under the meanings. And this concept is valid for “kakkoii” as well. So, Japanese people use “kakkouii” or its colloquial version, “kakkoii”, to express a person looking good.

When we meet new Japanese expressions, we should check their components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, components tell us a lot about meanings of expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “kakkoii” through the detailed check above.

Then, let me explain how to use “kakkoii” through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “handsome” 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.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to make its possessive case, “kanojo no”, which means ‘her’ in Japanese.
• koibito – 恋人 (こいびと) : a noun meaning ‘boyfriend’, ‘girlfriend’, or ‘lover’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “kanojo no koibito”, to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “kakkoii”. When we want to say “handsome” in Japanese, this word would be a good choice. In this example, it works as a complement. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier. So, we can say “kanojo no kakkoii koibito” to mean ‘her handsome boyfriend’ in Japanese. It’s worth knowing, I think.

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

Nai form of “kakkoii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kakkoyokunai”.

• kakkoyokunai – かっこよくない : the nai form of “kakkoii”, meaning ‘not handsome’, ‘not good-looking’, or ‘not cool’ in Japanese.

This nai form consists of the following two parts:

• kakkoyoku – かっこよく : one conjugation of “kakkoii”. 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 “kakkoyokunai” is literally the nai form of “kakkoii” and means ‘not handsome’, ‘not good-looking’, or ‘not cool’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

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

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.

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

Ta form of “kakkoii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kakkoyokatta”.

• kakkoyokatta – かっこよかった : the ta form of “kakkoii”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was handsome’, ‘were handsome’, or such in Japanese.

This ta form consists of the following two parts:

• kakkoyokat – かっこよかっ : one conjugation of “kakkoii”. 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 “kakkoyokatta” is literally the ta form of “kakkoii”. In Japanese, ta forms of verbs and adjectives can work as their past tense forms. So, we can say “kakkoyokatta” to mean ‘was handsome’, ‘were handsome’, 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 “kakkoii”

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• mukashi – 昔 (むかし) : a noun meaning ‘the past’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb. In the example, it works as an adverb to say “before” in Japanese.

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

Te form of “kakkoii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kakkoyokute”.

• kakkoyokute – かっこよくて : the te form of “kakkoii”, meaning ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese.

This te form consists of the following two parts:

• kakkoyoku – かっこよく : one conjugation of “kakkoii”. 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, “kakkoyokute” is very useful when we want to use adjectives in a row. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

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

Below is the new word used in the example.

• yasashii – 優しい (やさしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘kind’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “kakkoyokute”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with “yasashii”. When we want to use “kakkoii” before another adjective, its te form is useful.

Ba form of “kakkoii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kakkoyokereba”.

• kakkoyokereba – かっこよければ : the ba form of “kakkoii”, used to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese.

This ba form consists of the following two parts:

• kakkoyokere – かっこよけれ : one conjugation of “kakkoii”. 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 “kakkoyokereba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to use “kakkoyokereba”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ 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 “kare” to make the subject word in the conditional clause.
• kekkon suru – 結婚する (けっこんする) : a verb meaning ‘to marry’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “kakkoyokereba”. In this example, it has a subjunctive mood and works as a part of the conditional clause which means ‘if he were handsome’. When we want to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese, this ba form is useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the i-adjective, “kakkoii”, in detail based on its original kanji expressions. And also, I’ve explained its major conjugations through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• kakkoii – かっこいい : an i-adjective meaning ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese. This can work as both a modifier and a complement.
• kakkoyokunai – かっこよくない : the nai form of “kakkoii”, meaning ‘not handsome’, ‘not good-looking’, or ‘not cool’ in Japanese.
• kakkoyokatta – かっこよかった : the ta form of “kakkoii”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was handsome’, ‘were handsome’, or such in Japanese.
• kakkoyokute – かっこよくて : the te form of “kakkoii”, meaning ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese. When we want to use “kakkoii” before another adjective, this form is useful.
• kakkoyokereba – かっこよければ : the ba form of “kakkoii”, used to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.