also: ひとがよい
人がいい · i-adjective (yoi/ii class)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 人がいい | 人がよくない |
| Polite | 人がいいです | 人がよくないですalso 人がよくありません |
| Past polite | 人がよかったです | 人がよくなかったですalso 人がよくありませんでした |
| Past | 人がよかった | 人がよくなかった |
| Te-form | 人がよくて | 人がよくなくて |
| Adverbial | 人がよく | |
| Conditional | 人がよければ | 人がよくなければ |
| Tara conditional | 人がよかったら | 人がよくなかったら |
expression, i-adjective (yoi/ii class)
generous; soft-hearted; good-natured
Describes a person who is kind, accommodating, and perhaps too trusting or easily taken advantage of. Often carries a nuance of being a pushover.
彼は人がいいから、頼まれると断れないんだ。
He's so soft-hearted that he can't say no when asked.
Being too good-natured can be a problem, you know.
優しい means gentle or kind in a general sense, whereas 人がいい specifically implies a generous, soft-hearted nature that may lead to being taken advantage of.
Standard kanji spelling with the common reading ひとがいい.
Alternative spelling using 良い; often read as ひとがよい, but ひとがいい is also possible.
Rarely used kanji form; 好い is an uncommon spelling for よい.
A set phrase combining 人 (person) + が (subject marker) + いい (good). The literal meaning is 'the person is good', which developed into the idiomatic sense of being generous or soft-hearted.