Discover 偉 in praise for effort and in words about greatness. Learn each reading with its whole word.
The idea
偉 has 12 strokes; follow the linked diagram. 偉い（えらい） is an i-adjective; 偉大（いだい） is a na-adjective, as in 偉大な業績. 偉人（いじん） means a great person.
| Word | Reading |
|---|---|
| 偉い | えらい |
| 偉大 | いだい |
| 偉人 | いじん |
Examples
- 彼女の祖父は偉大な科学者でした。Her grandfather was a great scientist.
- 毎日勉強して偉いですね。You studied every day; well done!
- それは偉大な業績です。That is a great achievement.
- 歴史の偉人について学びました。We learned about a great person in history.
- 彼女の努力は偉いです。Her efforts are admirable.
- 博物館に偉人の肖像画があります。The museum has a portrait of a great person.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
偉い can praise a child’s effort, but can also mean high-ranking; saying it to a superior may sound patronizing. 偉大 suggests greatness rather than everyday praise.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 偉い in hiragana.
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えらい
偉い is えらい: it can praise someone for studying every day.
Write the reading of 偉大 in hiragana.
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いだい
偉大 is いだい; use な before a noun, as in 偉大な業績.
Choose the missing kanji: ＿人（いじん）［偉／違］.
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偉
偉 makes 偉人（いじん）, a great person, as in the history example.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 偉い in hiragana.
Write the reading of 偉大 in hiragana.
Choose the missing kanji: ＿人（いじん）［偉／違］.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 偉 using the diagram, cover the table, and read 偉い and 偉大. Make a sentence praising an achievement.