Kakkoii is the Japanese word for ‘handsome’, explained

What does “kakkoii” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “kakkoii” to mean ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or just ‘cool’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word together with its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to use “kakkoii” more properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “kakkoii”
• Kakkouii in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “handsome” in Japanese
• Kakkoyokunai: the nai form of “kakkoii”
  • Example #2: how to say “not handsome” in Japanese
• Kakkoyokatta: the ta form of “kakkoii”
  • Example #3: how to say “was handsome” in Japanese
• Kakkoyokute: the te form of “kakkoii”
  • Example #4: how to say “handsome and” in Japanese
• Kakkoyokereba: the ba form of “kakkoii”
  • Example #5: how to say “if handsome” in Japanese
• 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.

Native speakers use this pronunciation in daily conversations, but its original pronunciation is “kakkouii”. The kanji expressions for this original pronunciation tell us a lot about the concept behind this i-adjective. So, let me explain it in detail.

Kakkouii in kanji

Below are the kanji expressions of “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.

Although these two kanji expressions are subtly different, they have the same meanings and can be broken down in the same way:

• 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“.

These two components tell us that “kakkouii” literally means ‘appearance good’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meanings, but still very close. In addition, this interpretation is valid also for “kakkoii”. Japanese native speakers use these two words to describe a good-looking person.

When we meet new Japanese words, we should check their components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, components tell us a lot about the meanings of the words 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 just ‘lover’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo no koibito” to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “kakkoii”. In this example, it works as a complement. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier in front of a noun. For example, we can say “kanojo no kakkoii koibito” to mean ‘her handsome boyfriend’ in Japanese. It’s worth knowing. Anyway, when we want to say “handsome” in Japanese, this i-adjective is a very good option.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “kakkoii” together with its original kanji expressions. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentence. In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain its major conjugations. The first one is “kakkoyokunai”.

Kakkoyokunai: the 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”, which means ‘not handsome’, ‘not good-looking’, or ‘not cool’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “kakkoyokunai” consists of the following two parts:

• kakkoyoku – かっこよく : one conjugation of “kakkoii”. This can have a smooth 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 parts, 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 this nai form through the example sentence below.

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. In the example, this works together with “no” to say “my” in Japanese.
• kareshi – 彼氏 (かれし) : a noun meaning ‘boyfriend’ in Japanese.

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

Kakkoyokatta: the 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”, which means ‘was handsome’, ‘was good-looking’, ‘was cool’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “kakkoyokatta” consists of the following two parts:

• kakkoyokat – かっこよかっ : one conjugation of “kakkoii”. This can have a smooth connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “kakkoyokatta” is literally the ta form of “kakkoii” and means ‘was handsome’, ‘was good-looking’, ‘was cool’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this ta form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “was handsome” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• mukashi – 昔 (むかし) : a noun meaning ‘the past’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb to say “before” in Japanese.
• yo – よ : a sentence-ending particle used to state the fact or idea in a soft way. As the definition suggests, this is used at the end of the example sentence to state the speaker’s idea softly.

This is a typical usage of “kakkoyokatta”. When we want to use the past tense form of “kakkoii”, this ta form is the best option.

Kakkoyokute: the te form of “kakkoii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kakkoyokute”.

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

Grammatically, “kakkoyokute” consists of the following two parts:

• kakkoyoku – かっこよく : one conjugation of “kakkoii”. This can have a smooth connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “kakkoyokute” is literally the te form of “kakkoii”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “kakkoyokute” is very useful when we want to use “kakkoii” in front of another adjective or a verb. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to say “handsome and” in Japanese

Below is the new word used in the example.

• yasashii – 優しい (やさしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘kind’ or such 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” in front of another adjective, its te form is useful to make a smooth connection.

Kakkoyokereba: the ba form of “kakkoii”

Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “kakkoyokereba”.

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

Grammatically, “kakkoyokereba” consists of the following two parts:

• kakkoyokere – かっこよけれ : one conjugation of “kakkoii”. This can have a smooth connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “kakkoyokereba” is literally the ba form of “kakkoii”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “kakkoyokereba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to say “if handsome” in Japanese

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 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 is in the subjunctive mood and works as a part of the conditional clause, “kare ga kakkoyokereba”, which means ‘if he were handsome’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese, this ba form is useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “kakkoii” and its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them 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”, which means ‘not handsome’, ‘not good-looking’, or ‘not cool’ in Japanese.
• kakkoyokatta – かっこよかった : the ta form of “kakkoii”, which means ‘was handsome’, ‘was good-looking’, ‘was cool’, or such in Japanese.
• kakkoyokute – かっこよくて : the te form of “kakkoii”, which means ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese. When we want to use “kakkoii” in front of another adjective, this te form is useful to make a smooth connection.
• kakkoyokereba – かっこよければ : the ba form of “kakkoii”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘handsome’, ‘good-looking’, or ‘cool’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.