{"id":62700,"date":"2019-02-01T12:00:19","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T03:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cotoacademy.com\/how-to-use-japanese-word-%e3%81%8b%e3%81%a3%e3%81%93%e3%81%84%e3%81%84-kakkoii-handsome-cool-in-japanese\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T17:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T08:32:12","slug":"how-to-use-japanese-word-%e3%81%8b%e3%81%a3%e3%81%93%e3%81%84%e3%81%84-kakkoii-handsome-cool-in-japanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cotoacademy.com\/ja\/how-to-use-japanese-word-%E3%81%8B%E3%81%A3%E3%81%93%E3%81%84%E3%81%84-kakkoii-handsome-cool-in-japanese\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use the Japanese word “\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044 (Kakkoii)”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0<\/div>\n

What’s\u00a0\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044 (Kakkoii)?<\/a>
Calling someone… Ugly\/Uncool\/Not Cool?<\/a>
Sentence Examples<\/a>
When NOT to use\u00a0\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044 (Kakkoii)<\/a><\/p>\n

What’s\u00a0\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044 (Kakkoii) in Japanese?<\/h2>\n

Ever walked across the street and noticed a person or thing that almost made you turn head over heels? In English, you’d say “Oh my God, that’s so cool!”. But how about in Japanese? What would YOU say? Well, today we shall cover just that through using the Japanese word \u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044 (Kakkoii)!
The word in itself is comprised of 2 parts:
1. \u683c\u597d\uff08\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3046\uff09- Read as Kakkou<\/strong>
2.\u00a0\u3044\u3044 – Read as Ii<\/strong>
The former<\/strong> refers to the “Appearance”<\/strong> of someone or something whereas the latter<\/strong> is an adjective used to describe something as “Good”<\/strong>. When put together, these 2 words form Kakkoii, of which would be used to describe someone or something as “Good Looking”<\/strong> or “Cool”<\/strong>. Do note that this is mostly used to describe something or someone with a known physical presence rather than a situation. \ud83d\ude07<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

For example, you’d go like “That Guy\/Car over there is Kakkoii” but not “You’re up for Karaoke later? Kakkoii”. We’ll touch more on this in a later section.<\/p>\n

Calling someone… Ugly\/Uncool\/Not Cool?<\/h3>\n

So… What would be the antonym for the word\u00a0\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044 (Kakkoii) then?
Well, it can be either of the following 2:
1. \u304b\u3063\u3053\u3088\u304f\u306a\u3044 – Read as Kakkoyokunai<\/strong>
2.\u00a0\u304b\u3063\u3053\u60aa\u3044\uff08\u304b\u3063\u3053\u308f\u308b\u3044\uff09- Read as Kakkowarui<\/strong>
As mentioned earlier, the word\u00a0\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044 (Kakkoii) itself is a combination of two words, namely “Kakkou” and “Ii”. Therefore, to express the opposite of Kakkoii, we would have to conjugate the word “Ii” into “Yokunai”. Thereby, leaving us with Kakkoyokunai which basically means “Not Handsome\/Cool”.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

If you’d like to sound more crude and brutal, then the latter would be your best bet. “Warui” is often used to describe something as bad or distasteful. By putting it together with “Kakko”, we’d get the word “Kakkowarui” which is used to describe someone’s appearance as ugly.\ud83d\ude08<\/p>\n

Sentence Examples<\/h3>\n

After all that babbling on the meaning of the Kakkoii and its Antonyms, let’s now take a look at how to go about using the word itself in a conversational context. Below are a few scenarios in which the word “Kakkoii” would be deemed appropriate for use:
1. When you see Someone\/Something which sparks your interest.<\/strong>
\u3042\u306e\u4eba\uff0f\u3042\u306e\u8eca\u3001\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044\u306d\uff01
Romaji:<\/strong> Ano hito\/Ano kuruma\u3001Kakkoii ne!
English:<\/strong> That person\/that car over there looks cool, doesn’t it!<\/p>\n

2. When you’d like to bring the attention of others to something you own.<\/strong>
\u306d\u3048\u3001\u79c1\u306e\u8eca\u3001\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044\u3067\u3057\u3087\uff1f
Romaji:\u00a0<\/strong>Nee, Watashi no Kuruma, Kakkoii desho?
English:\u00a0<\/strong>Hey, do you think my car looks cool?<\/p>\n

3. When you’d like to describe the appearance of something in general.<\/strong>
\u304a\u3001\u305d\u306e\u30b9\u30fc\u30c4\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044\u306d\u3001\u3069\u3046\u3057\u305f\u306e\uff1f\uff01
Romaji:<\/strong>\u00a0Oh, sono suutsu kakkoii ne!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

English:<\/strong> What’s up with you and that cool suit?<\/p>\n

When NOT to use\u00a0\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044 (Kakkoii)<\/h3>\n

As we know,\u00a0\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044 (Kakkoii) is mostly used to describe something or someone with a known physical presence rather than a situation.
Therefore, the following scenario is in which when the use of \u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044 (Kakkoii) would be deemed INAPPROPRIATE<\/b>:
Japanese: <\/strong>
Person A: \u5f8c\u3067\u30ab\u30e9\u30aa\u30b1\u306f\u3069\u3046\uff1f
Person B: \u3044\u3044\u3088\uff01
Person A: \u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044\uff01<\/p>\n

Romaji:\u00a0<\/strong>
Person A: Ato de Karaoke wa dou?
Person B: Ii yo!
Person A: Kakkoii!<\/p>\n

English:\u00a0<\/strong>
Person A: How about Karaoke after this?
Person B: Sure!
Person A: Handsome\/Cool!<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> In this case, we would instead reply with a “\u3044\u3044\u306d\uff01” as opposed to a “\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044\uff01” if we’d like to say something along the lines of “Cool!”.
In an English Conversation, using the word “Cool” may seem very common to express your satisfaction with a situation. But remember,\u00a0\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3044\u3044 (Kakkoii) is used to describe the Physical Appearance of something and not a Situation. With these in mind, we hope you have a better understanding of the word and can start moving towards mastering your Japanese Language!\ud83d\udcaa
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