One of the popular word in Japan ”Sugoi"
Japanese people say “Sugoi” almost all the time. If you spend a day with your Japanese friend, I bet you will hear this word at least once. Sugoi is an adjective, and so you can use this word alone, like "Atsui"(hot), "Oishii"(delicious). I thought about how the word was used by Japanese people in the Japanese society today.
The original meaning of Sugoi
I searched what exactly a dictionary say about the word Sugoi. Yes, it's an adjective, and there are 2 main meanings.
(from goo辞書)
I was actually surprised when I saw the meaning No. 1 because I thought sugoi is always used when people are amazed by something or someone. However, when I thought about it more carefully, I found that I do use it when I am scared of something. Something like, すごい高さ(sugoi takasa) when I look down from the edge of a canyon. すごい高さ can be translated to "unbelievable height" but in this case, it can include the meaning of "I'm scared because it's so high" or "I'm afraid falling off", so it is more like "Terrible height". Now you see, the two meanings sometimes connect to each other.
The meaning of sugoi in Japanese society today
The meaning of the word today can be translated into many English words.
Amazing, awesome, wonderful, stunning, incredible, surprising…
and you need to know which meaning is mentioned depending on the situations.
Towards to things
Please tap the picture and zoom.
*I put ( ) because you don't have to say them if the listener knows what exactly you are taking about.
I personally think that they say the word when they think something they cannot make/do by themselves. Therefore, when a Japanese person say すごい towards to things, (I would say) 90 % of the meaning goes to the thing itself, and 10 % goes to the person who made/did it. For example, if they say この写真すごいね, it means, the view in the photo is stunning, but also the person who captured this moment in a photo is amazing, too. When they say すごい車だね, the car might have had done paint job by the owner, and they think the owner did the amazing work as well as the car itself looks amazing..
Towards to people
You can also describe a person with Sugoi, but it has to be clear what is sugoi for you.
1. You heard that your friend passed a difficult exam, and you say to her, すごいね！
2. You saw a guy scored three points in one game. あの人、すごいね。
Like in example 1, if you are telling すごい to the person who did good job or achieved his/her goal, it includes the meaning of "Good job", "I'm happy that you did it." as well.
In example 2, if you are talking about the 3rd person is すごい, you might admire/respect him/her.
The forms of Sugoi
Sugoi-ne（すごいね）/Sugoi-yo（すごいよ）/Sugoi-yone（すごいよね）/Sugoi-jan （すごいじゃん）
When there is an ending particles, the meaning slightly changes. I put 3 sentences for each word.
君：Kimi (You) --- talking about the second person.
あの人：Ano hito (That person) --- talking about the third person.
この写真：Kono shashin (This picture) --- talking about a thing
Sugoi-ne
You think something or someone is sugoi, but you also want the listener to agree to you.
OK: 君、すごいね。Kimi sugoi ne.
OK: あの人すごいね。 Anohito sugoi ne.
OK: この写真すごいね。 Kono shashin sugoi ne.
In this case, what is Sugoi is often clear to both speaker and listener. Probably they have seen the sugoi thing. You might have seen someone won a first prize of marathon, and you say, 君、すごいね to the person. If you see a guy over there just broke the best record of the history, and you say to your friend who is next to you あの人すごいね. If you are looking at a photo of pretty northern light, you might say この写真すごいね to your friend who is looking at the picture with you.
Sugoi-yo
You probably think other people don't think it's Sugoi yet, and you are going to persuade them with a strong reason for it.
*だって(Datte) is a casual way to say "Because".
OK: 君、すごいよ。だって・・・
Kimi, sugoiyo. Datte...
OK: あの人すごいよ。だって、・・・
Anohito sugoiyo. Datte...
OK: この写真すごいよ。だって・・・
Kono shasin sugoi yo. Datte...
In this case, what is Sugoi can be clear or unclear to the listener. They might have seen the sugoi thing or only the speaker have seen it. For example, you might have seen someone won a first prize of marathon, and you say, 君、すごいよ to the person but at this point, the runner doesn't know the reason why you said that, so you continue "because you are the first person who won from our team!" If you see a guy over there just broke the best record of the history, and you say to your friend who just came back from the bathroom あの人すごいよ. and of course you continue to tell the reason why that person is すごい. If you are looking at a photo and you find out something, and say この写真すごいよ to your friend who is also looking at the photo. Your friend might have not known what is すごい yet, and you say "There is a ghost like thing here!!"
Sugoi-yone
This is a bit stronger than sugoi-ne. You want someone to agree to you.
(OK): 君、すごいよね。 Kimi, sugoi yone.
OK: あの人すごいよね。Anohito sugoi yone.
OK: この写真すごいよね。Kono shashin sugoi yone.
In this case, what is Sugoi can be clear or unclear to the listener. They might have seen the sugoi thing or only the speaker have seen it. The speaker might suddenly remember an old classmate who broke a guinness record recently and say, 山田さん(the 3rd person)、すごいよね followed by the reason. I want to mention that if you say 君、すごいよね to the listener, it sounds you envy the person, or it can sound a bit sarcastic, too.
Sugoi-jan
1．(I think you are great. / You did good job.) 2．(He is great, isn't he? He sure is!)
1. You are not asking any agreement to what you think. You use this word towards to the person who you think he/she is すごい.
OK: 君、すごいじゃん。Kimi, sugoi jan.
NO: あの人、すごいじゃん。Anohito, sugoi jan.
NO: この写真、すごいじゃん。Konosyashin, sugoi jan.
NO: あの人、すごいじゃん。Anohito, sugoi jan.
NO: この写真、すごいじゃん。Konosyashin, sugoi jan.
2. It also has similar meaning to Sugoi-yo, so you need a reason to support your opinion after. but you don't use it toward to the listener if he/she is the person you think すごい.
NO: 君、すごいじゃん。
OK: あの人すごいじゃん！だって・・・
OK: この写真すごいじゃん！だって・・・
Sugo （すごっ）/Suge（すげっ）/Suggee（すっげー）/Sugee（すげえ）
These all mean same as saying "Sugoi" it's just the different way to say it. This form change is sometimes seen in Japanese i-adjectives. For example,
・暑い（あつい）hot→あつっ、あちっ、あっちー、あちい
・眠い（ねむい）sleepy→ねむい、ねむっ、ねっみー、ねみい
*You need to be careful. This change does not apply for all the adjectives.
Guys use these forms more, but young boyish girls or some girls also use these forms. You don't have to use them but please be able to recognize them.
Is Sugoidesu (すごいです。) formal way of すごい?
The answer is Yes and No. You might hear a younger person saying すごいですね to a person older than him/her, or when someone talks to a person who is not close to him/her. You might think you made it politer adding ですね. Yes, you did make it politer and you can use it. However, it can sound you don't have enough vocabulary or you might not really interested in the topic. You better use more specific words to react what the speaker has just said especially in business scenes.
Conclusion
Thus, the word すごい is very useful word that can replace with something amazing, awesome etc.. and you do hear a lot in the Japanese society. If you use this word, you can sound like a Japanese, however, I recommend you to know more adjectives as you learn Japanese because when you use the word too much, it sounds you are reacting without really thinking.
Anyway, hope you understand the differences. Bye now!
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