ガイ

ガ

イ

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

Casual katakana noun for a man or fellow. As a standalone word it can sound English-flavored or translation-like; it is especially easy to encounter in expressions such as ナイスガイ and タフガイ.

彼かれは気きさくで、みんなからナイスガイと呼よばれている。
He is friendly and is called a nice guy by everyone.
あの映えい画がの主しゅ人じん公こうは、典てん型けい的てきなタフガイだ。
The protagonist of that movie is a typical tough guy.

Related words

男おとこN5
男 is the plain, everyday Japanese word for a man, while ガイ is a katakana loanword that sounds casual and English-flavored.
奴やつN1
やつ is a native casual word for a guy or thing that can sound rough or dismissive, whereas ガイ specifically carries an English "guy" flavor.
男だん性せいN4
男性 is the neutral, formal word for a male person, appropriate where ガイ would sound too slangy.

Don't confuse with

ガイドN2
ガイド means "guide" (a person or booklet that leads/explains), while ガイ means "guy"; the two katakana words look and sound similar but are unrelated in meaning.

Counted with

人にん
The everyday counter for people: 一人 (ひとり), 二人 (ふたり), 三人 (さんにん).
名めいN2
More formal than 人 — used for headcounts in reservations, staff lists, and announcements (5名様).

Word family

ナイスガイ
nice guy

Etymology

No language of origin is specified. The katakana spelling corresponds in use to English-style “guy,” but no specific borrowing history is provided here.