こういう

also: こうゆう

こ

う

い

う

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 1,000

Meanings

pre-noun adjectival

usually written using kana alone

Pre-noun adjectival used to refer to something previously mentioned or contextually understood; equivalent to 'this kind of' or 'such'.

こういう場ば合あいin a case/situation like this
こういう場ば合あいはどうすればいいですか。
What should I do in a case like this?
こういう時ときat a time like this
こういう時ときは正しょう直じきに言いうべきだ。
At a time like this, you should be honest.
こういう人ひとa person like this
こういう人ひととは付つき合あいたくない。
I don't want to associate with someone like this.

どうこう言いうraise objections; complain; say anything (about)
ああ言いえばこう言いうhave a comeback for every remark; always ready with excuses; contradict everything

こんなN5
こういう and こんな both mean 'this kind of', but こんな is more colloquial and tends to carry a stronger emotional or exclamatory nuance.
こういった
こういう is the common, casual way to say “this sort of,” while こう言った is a slightly more formal or literary variant with the same meaning.
こうした
こういう is a casual, everyday equivalent of 斯うした, both meaning 'this kind of' but こういう sounds less formal.

そういう
こういう points to something near the speaker or just mentioned by the speaker, while そういう points to something near the listener or just mentioned by the listener.
ああいう
こういう refers to something close to the speaker, whereas ああいう refers to something distant from both speaker and listener or known to both but not present.
こういった
こう言う is the plain non-past form used the same way as こう言った (past form), so learners may wonder which tense to use even though both mean “this sort of.”

こう言う
- こういう
  Kanji spelling using 言う; less common but still encountered.
- こうゆう
  irregular kana usage
こうゆう
irregular kana usage
Irregular kana variant; considered nonstandard but used in casual speech.
こーゆー
Search-only kana form reflecting casual elongated pronunciation.
こーいう
Search-only kana form with elongated first syllable.

Compound of こう (this way) and いう (say). The literal meaning is 'called this way', which developed into 'this kind of'.