かわいい

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. かわいい犬ですね。▶ —
   What a cute dog.
2. この服はかわいくて好きです。▶ —
   I like this outfit because it is cute.

Collocations

Mnemonic

かわいい kawaii — i-adjective. A global Japanese cultural export — fashion, characters, anime. WARNING TRAP: かわいそう kawaisou ("poor/pitiful") looks like ~そう conjecture of kawaii but is an entirely separate word meaning "pitiful, sad/sorry for". Don't confuse. Kanji 可愛い exists but kana is standard.

Quick check

1. What does かわいそう mean?

   • pitiful, poor (separate word)
   • "looks cute" (wrong — would be かわいさそう)
   • not cute (wrong, that's かわいくない)
   • very cute (wrong)