# 良い
## Japanese
### Etymology 1

* Kanji in this term
* 良
* よ Grade: 4
* kun'yomi
* Alternative spellings
* 善い 好い 吉い 佳い 宜い 可い 美い
Modern form of Old Japanese adjective よし (yoshi).
/joɕi/ (classical 終止形 (shūshikei) or terminal form) → /joki/ (classical 連体形 (rentaikei) or attributive form) → /joi/ (modern shūshikei and rentaikei)

#### Alternative forms

* (classical Japanese) よし (yoshi), えし (eshi)
* (standard Japanese, more informal) いい (ii)
* (literary) えい (ei)
* (dialect) ええ (ē)

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) よい [yóꜜì] (Atamadaka – [1])
* IPA: [jo̞i]
* Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「良い」
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary :
| Stem forms ||||
| Continuative (連用形) | 良く | よく | [yóꜜkù] |
| Terminal (終止形) | 良い | よい | [yóꜜì] |
| Attributive (連体形) | 良い | よい | [yóꜜì] |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | 良くない | よくない | [yóꜜkùnàì] |
| Informal past | 良かった | よかった | [yóꜜkàttà] |
| Informal negative past | 良くなかった | よくなかった | [yóꜜkùnàkàttà] |
| Formal | 良いです | よいです | [yóꜜìdèsù] |
| Conjunctive | 良くて | よくて | [yóꜜkùtè] |
| Conditional | 良ければ | よければ | [yóꜜkèrèbà] |

#### Adjective

良(よ)い • (yoi) -i (adverbial 良(よ)く (yoku))
* good
    Antonyms: 悪い, 駄目

##### Usage notes

* Most often written in hiragana. The kanji spelling is generally reserved for more formal writing.

##### Inflection

Stem forms :
| Imperfective (未然形) | 良かろ | よかろ | yokaro |
| Continuative (連用形) | 良く | よく | yoku |
| Terminal (終止形) | 良い | よい | yoi |
| Attributive (連体形) | 良い | よい | yoi |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | 良けれ | よけれ | yokere |
| Imperative (命令形) | 良かれ | よかれ | yokare |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | 良くない | よくない | yoku nai |
| Informal past | 良かった | よかった | yokatta |
| Informal negative past | 良くなかった | よくなかった | yoku nakatta |
| Formal | 良いです | よいです | yoi desu |
| Formal negative | 良くないです | よくないです | yoku nai desu |
| Formal past | 良かったです | よかったです | yokatta desu |
| Formal negative past | 良くなかったです | よくなかったです | yoku nakatta desu |
| Conjunctive | 良くて | よくて | yokute |
| Conditional | 良ければ | よければ | yokereba |
| Provisional | 良かったら | よかったら | yokattara |
| Volitional | 良かろう | よかろう | yokarō |
| Adverbial | 良く | よく | yoku |
| Degree | 良さ | よさ | yosa |
Stem forms :
| Irrealis (未然形) | 良く$^{[1]}$ 良から$^{[2]}$ | よく よから | yoku yokara |
| Continuative (連用形) | 良く$^{[1]}$ 良かり$^{[2]}$ | よく よかり | yoku yokari |
| Terminal (終止形) | 良し | よし | yosi |
| Attributive (連体形) | 良き 良かる | よき よかる | yoki yokaru |
| Realis (已然形) | 良けれ | よけれ | yokere |
| Imperative (命令形) | 良かれ | よかれ | yokare |
| Key constructions ||||
| Negative | 良からず | よからず | yokarazu |
| Contrasting conjunction | 良けれど | よけれど | yokeredo |
| Causal conjunction | 良ければ | よければ | yokereba |
| Conditional conjunction | 良くば | よくば | yokuba |
| Past tense (firsthand knowledge) | 良かりき | よかりき | yokariki |
| Past tense (secondhand knowledge) | 良かりけり | よかりけり | yokarikeri |
| Adverbial | 良く | よく | yoku |
| $^{[1]}$Without auxiliary verb. $^{[2]}$With auxiliary verb. ||||
* When with the そう (-sō) suffix, it is よさそう (yosasō) instead of よそう (yosō).

##### Derived terms

* 頭(あたま)が良(よ)い (atama ga yoi), 頭(あたま)がよい (atama ga yoi): bright, intelligent

#### Suffix

良(よ)い • (-yoi)
* easy
    分かり良い ― wakariyoi ― easy to understand

##### Usage notes

* Most often written in hiragana. The kanji spelling is generally reserved for more formal writing.
* Attaches to the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of a verb. Example:
    読(よ)み良(よ)い ― yomiyoi ― easy to read
    However, in modern Japanese, the adjective 安い, 易い (yasui, “easy, easygoing”) is more commonly used to express this meaning.

### Etymology 2

* Kanji in this term
* 良
* え Grade: 4
* kun'yomi
* Alternative spellings
* 善い 好い
Phonetic shift from the Old Japanese yoshi form of yoi above. Already in use as early as the Nihon Shoki, circa 720, then becoming common in eastern Japanese from the Edo period. This form is now obsolete, though it may still be found in some dialects.
/joɕi/ (classical 終止形 (shūshikei) or terminal form) → /eɕi/ (classical 終止形 (shūshikei) or terminal form) → /eki/ (classical 連体形 (rentaikei) or attributive form) → /ei/ (modern shūshikei and rentaikei)

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [e̞i]

#### Adjective

良(え)い • (ei) -i (adverbial 良(え)く (eku))
* (obsolete) good

### Etymology 3

* Kanji in this term
* 良
* い Grade: 4
* kun'yomi
* Alternative spellings
* 善い 好い
Phonetic shift from ei above. This is now the most common form used in casual spoken Japanese.
/ei/ → /ii/

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) いい [íꜜì] (Atamadaka – [1])
* IPA: [iː]
* Audio:(file)
* Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「いい」
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary :
| Stem forms ||||
| Continuative (連用形) | よく | よく | [yóꜜkù] |
| Terminal (終止形) | いい | いい | [íꜜì] |
| Attributive (連体形) | いい | いい | [íꜜì] |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | よくない | よくない | [yóꜜkùnàì] |
| Informal past | よかった | よかった | [yóꜜkàttà] |
| Informal negative past | よくなかった | よくなかった | [yóꜜkùnàkàttà] |
| Formal | いいです | いいです | [íꜜìdèsù] |
| Conjunctive | よくて | よくて | [yóꜜkùtè] |
| Conditional | よければ | よければ | [yóꜜkèrèbà] |

#### Adjective

良(い)い • (ii) -i (adverbial 良(よ)く (yoku))
* (colloquial, informal) good
* (colloquial, predicative only) enough; not wanted any more.
    酒(さけ)はもういい
       sake wa mō ii
       I have had enough wine/I don't want any more wine.

##### Usage notes

* Most often written in hiragana. The kanji spelling is generally reserved for more formal writing.
* The ii form does not inflect — it is only used in the 終止形 (shūshikei, “terminal form”) and 連体形 (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of ii. All other grammatical forms are based on the yoi form above. Compare the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or adverbial form”) yoku or the 過去形 (kakokei, “past tense”) yokatta: there is no *iku or *ikatta form.
* In ironic usages denoting "very bad; embarrassing", the ii form is preferred to the yoi form.

##### Inflection

Stem forms :
| Imperfective (未然形) | よかろ | yokaro |
| Continuative (連用形) | よく | yoku |
| Terminal (終止形) | いい | ii |
| Attributive (連体形) | いい | ii |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | よけれ | yokere |
| Imperative (命令形) | よかれ | yokare |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | よくない | yoku nai |
| Informal past | よかった | yokatta |
| Informal negative past | よくなかった | yoku nakatta |
| Formal | いいです | ii desu |
| Formal negative | よくないです | yoku nai desu |
| Formal past | よかったです | yokatta desu |
| Formal negative past | よくなかったです | yoku nakatta desu |
| Conjunctive | よくて | yokute |
| Conditional | よければ | yokereba |
| Provisional | よかったら | yokattara |
| Volitional | よかろう | yokarō |
| Adverbial | よく | yoku |
| Degree | よさ | yosa |

##### Derived terms

* 頭(あたま)が良(い)い (atama ga ii), 頭(あたま)がいい (atama ga ii): bright, intelligent

### References

* 1 2 3 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN