ウルトラ

ウ

ル

ト

ラ

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

Loanword prefix used to intensify adjectives or nouns, similar to 'ultra-' or 'super-' in English. Common in product names, casual emphasis, and compounds like ウルトラマン.

このスマホはウルトラ高こう性せい能のうだ。
This smartphone is ultra high-performance.
ウルトラマンは日本にほんの有ゆう名めいなヒーローだ。
Ultraman is a famous Japanese hero.

See all 11 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

ウルトラ〈形けい容よう詞し〉attached to an adjective to intensify it, meaning 'extremely ~'
このパズルはウルトラ難むずかしい。
This puzzle is ultra difficult.
ウルトラ〈物もの〉attached to a product or event name to give it an extreme, high-powered image
このお店みせは今こん週しゅう末まつウルトラセールをやるそうだ。
I heard this store is having an 'ultra sale' this weekend.

Related words

超ちょうN2
超 is a native Japanese prefix also meaning 'super' or 'ultra' and is far more common in everyday casual speech (超おいしい), while ウルトラ is a loanword prefix that sounds more emphatic or commercial.
ごくN2
極 is a native prefix meaning 'extremely' used in more neutral or formal descriptions (極上, 極寒), whereas ウルトラ is a flashier loanword often used in product names and casual exaggeration.
メガ
メガ is another loanword prefix used for casual emphasis (メガ盛り), but it leans toward suggesting large size or quantity, while ウルトラ emphasizes intensity or extremeness more generally.
ハイパー
ウルトラ conveys extreme scale similarly to ハイパー, but is more often used in brand names and pop-culture titles.

Word family

Etymology

Borrowed from English 'ultra', ultimately from Latin 'ultra' meaning 'beyond'.