also: よいひと
good person; good-natured person
Refers to someone of kind, gentle, or agreeable character. Often used in everyday conversation to describe a person's nature.
彼は本当にいい人だね。
He's a really good person, isn't he.
Euphemistic way to refer to one's romantic partner without specifying gender or relationship status. Common in casual conversation.
あの店の店員さんはみんないい人だった。
The staff at that shop were all nice people.
Yesterday I saw someone who looked like her boyfriend at the station.
今度、私のいい人を紹介するね。
I'll introduce you to my boyfriend/girlfriend next time.
Directly means 'lover' or 'romantic partner'; いい人 is a softer, more indirect way to refer to one's partner.
Most common spelling in modern Japanese.
Slightly more formal or written variant; よい is the standard form of いい in many grammatical contexts.
Explicitly marks the 'good/virtuous' meaning, but rarely used in practice.
Kanji 好 emphasizes 'likeable' nuance; very uncommon.
Phrase composed of いい (good) + 人 (person). The reading いい is a colloquial contraction of よい, which has been used since the Edo period.