でかい

also: でっかい · でけえ · でっけえ · でけー · でっけー · でけぇ · でっけぇ

で

か

い

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

でかい · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	でかい	でかくない
Polite	でかいです	でかくないですalso でかくありません
Past polite	でかかったです	でかくなかったですalso でかくありませんでした
Past	でかかった	でかくなかった
Te-form	でかくて	でかくなくて
Adverbial	でかく
Conditional	でかければ	でかくなければ
Tara conditional	でかかったら	でかくなかったら

Meanings

i-adjective

huge; big; enormous

colloquial

Colloquial adjective used in casual speech to describe something very large in size, scale, or impact. More emphatic and informal than 大きい.

あの犬いぬ、でかいね。
That dog is huge, isn't it?
でかい声こえで叫さけんだ。
He shouted in a huge voice.
今日きょうはでかいミスをしちゃった。
I made a huge mistake today.

See all 48 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

声こえがでかいto have a loud voice
彼かれは声こえがでかくて、いつも目め立だつ。
He has such a loud voice that he always stands out.
でかい口くちを叩たたくto talk big; to boast
できないくせに、でかい口くちを叩たたくな。
Don't talk big when you can't even do it.
〈場ば所しょ〉ででかく育そだつto grow up big/tall (in a place)
この牛うしは牧ぼく場じょうででかく育そだった。
This cow grew up big on the ranch.

Expressions

でかい顔かおするact self-importantly; be arrogant; throw one's weight around
でかい顔かおをするact self-important; be arrogant; throw one's weight around

Related words

大おおきいN5
大きい is the neutral, standard word for 'big', while でかい is a casual, more emphatic version often used in speech.
巨きょ大だいN3
巨大 is a formal, objective term for something gigantic in scale, whereas でかい is informal and subjective, often expressing surprise.

Opposites

小ちいさいN5
小さい means 'small' and is the direct opposite of でかい, which means 'huge' in casual speech.

Word family

馬ば鹿かでかい
ridiculously large; huge; enormous

Written forms

でかいUsage51%
Standard kana spelling; no kanji form exists.
でっかいUsage23%
Emphatic variant with geminate consonant, common in casual speech.
デカイUsage14%
search-only kana form
Katakana spelling, often used for emphasis or in informal writing.
デカいUsage12%
search-only kana form
Mixed katakana-hiragana spelling, common in casual contexts.
デッカイUsage1%
デッカいUsage<1%
search-only kana form
Emphatic mixed spelling variant.

Etymology

The exact origin is uncertain. It may be a sound-symbolic word related to the emphatic sense of largeness, with the geminate variant でっかい adding further emphasis.