"pretty expensive" vs. "really expensive."

[Buntaro]

I've been grappling with the Japanese equivalent words for "very," as in "very expensive." The thing is, in English, we usually don't say "very expensive," we usually say either "pretty expensive" or "really expensive."

What's the best way to say "pretty expensive" in Japanese?
「とても高い」？
「随分（ずいぶん）高い」？

What's the best way to say "really expensive" in Japanese?
「大変高い」？
「すごく高い」？
「ものすごく高い」？

I know that people sometimes use a literal translation for "really expensive" and say, "ほんとに高い" but I don't think this is used widely in colloquial Japanese. (Is it?)

In addition, I have discussed in another thread the use of めちゃ, which apparently is being used to mean "really," as in the example めちゃ高い "really expensive," but this seems to be in Kansai dialect only. Is this use of めちゃ catching on in other parts of Japan?

Are Japanese people who learn English sensitive to the nuances between "pretty expensive" and "really expensive"?

 

[mdchachi]

What's the best way to say "pretty expensive" in Japanese?

I would say まあまあ高い

What's the best way to say "really expensive" in Japanese?

I would probably say すごく高い or すごい高い. The latter is not grammatically correct but is colloquially used and seems more natural in casual conversation to me.

In addition, I have discussed in another thread the use of めちゃ, which apparently is being used to mean "really," as in the example めちゃ高い "really expensive," but this seems to be in Kansai dialect only. Is this use of めちゃ catching on in other parts of Japan?

It's understood pretty much everywhere I think. Not sure how much it's caught on though.

 

[Buntaro]

Thanks!

 

[Toritoribe]

そこそこ高い can have similar nuance as まあまあ高い.

ほんとに高い is quite commonly used in colloquial conversation.

You can hear めちゃ高い, めっちゃ高い or めちゃめちゃ高い everywhere in Japan.

 

[Buntaro]

The phrase まあまあ高い has been mentioned twice in this thread. When I hear it, I think of "kind of expensive." Or maybe they are not the same? What is the best way to say "kind of expensive" in Japanese? ちょっと高い？

 

[mdchachi]

The phrase まあまあ高い has been mentioned twice in this thread. When I hear it, I think of "kind of expensive." Or maybe they are not the same? What is the best way to say "kind of expensive" in Japanese? ちょっと高い？

How does kind of expensive differ from pretty expensive? They mean the same thing to me.

 

[Buntaro]

"Kind of expensive" is less expensive than "pretty expensive." "Pretty expensive" means the same as "very expensive" but "kind of expensive" does not. "Pretty expensive" is the most common way of saying "very expensive" in American English. (I have no idea about this in British English.)

I have always thought of "pretty expensive" as とても高い and "kind of expensive" as まあまあ高い. (I am assuming that とても高い and まあまあ高い do not mean the same thing.) Perhaps I am wrong?

 

[Majestic]

"Kind of expensive" is less expensive than "pretty expensive." "Pretty expensive" means the same as "very expensive" but "kind of expensive" does not. "Pretty expensive" is the most common way of saying "very expensive" in American English.

I wouldn't apply any kind of a strict hierarchy to these phrases, because they all feel highly dependent upon context and the speaker. Then, if you try to transpose them (and the hierarchy) into Japanese, it adds another variable that just skews the whole list. And you haven't even touched on phrases like けっこう高い or なかなか高い or やや高い etc...All of these phrases are just ways of saying one thing is relatively more expensive than another thing (or, more expensive than you are used to, or more expensive than you imagined). The key isn't memorizing the hierarchy. They key is having all of these phrases in your toolbox so your vocabulary can be broad and flexible, and you can understand others around you without them "dumbing down" the conversation for your benefit .

 

[Buntaro]

Majestic, I agree with what you are saying, but the other side of the coin is, being able to teach English to Japanese people and give them easy ways to keep track of the differences between "really expensive," "pretty expensive," "kind of expensive," etc., and eventually use these phrases fluently. The trick is teaching them how to 'build their own toolboxes' from scratch.

 

[Majestic]

My advice to them would be the same: don't try to rely on, or memorize, a hierarchy. Just know that all of these phrases are relative, and it depends on the speaker and the conversation. But I know people prefer to have concrete answers, and "its all relative" sounds like mealy-mouthed advice. Maybe I would turn the question around to them and try to have them rank Japanese terms:

かなり高い
やや高い
けっこう高い
なかなか高い etc...

They can't really be ranked. Of course, a super opinionated person might claim that けっこう高い is always and irrefutably higher than かなり高い, but these rigid rankings fall apart pretty quickly. I just did a quick AI google search for the terms "quite" and "rather", and it spit back this gem

"Quite" and "rather" are both adverbs that indicate degree or emphasis. "Quite" can mean "a little, moderately but not very" or "very, totally or completely".

Accurate, but very frustrating for the learner of English. And also the frequency of usage would be different between the UK and the US, which adds another complexity. I think a learner of English needn't be bothered by learning all of the subtleties of usage of the word "quite". It's sufficient to know that it emphasizes the adjective that follows.

 

[mdchachi]

"Kind of expensive" is less expensive than "pretty expensive." "Pretty expensive" means the same as "very expensive" but "kind of expensive" does not. "Pretty expensive" is the most common way of saying "very expensive" in American English. (I have no idea about this in British English.)

I have always thought of "pretty expensive" as とても高い and "kind of expensive" as まあまあ高い. (I am assuming that とても高い and まあまあ高い do not mean the same thing.) Perhaps I am wrong?

For what it's worth as an American, I feel like pretty expensive and kind of expensive are closer in meaning than pretty expensive and very expensive. I guess I can agree that "pretty expensive" is more expensive than "kind of expensive" but to me they are close and it's context-dependent. If it's something I'm considering to purchase, rather than very expensive I'd probably say it's too expensive. But in the case of pretty expensive or kind of expensive, I may still end up buying it. Anyway I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just one data point.

 

[Toritoribe]

As already pointed out, it often doesn't work well to look for one-to-one connection between words in different languages. It's more useful to me to know explanations about the different nuance of the words.

An AI answer:
「pretty expensive」と「really expensive」はどちらも「高い」という意味を持ちますが、ニュアンスや程度には微妙な違いがあります。

Pretty expensive​

「pretty」には「かなり」「まあまあ」というニュアンスがあり、「pretty expensive」は「かなり高いけど、驚くほどではない」といった印象を与えます。相手に対して少し軽い感じで伝えたいときや、状況がそこまで深刻でない場合によく使われます。例: "This restaurant is pretty expensive, but the food is worth it."（このレストランはかなり高いけど、料理の価値はあるよ。）​

Really expensive​

「really」は「本当に」「非常に」という意味があり、「really expensive」は「かなり高い」と強調したいときに使います。驚きや感情が込められることが多い表現です。例: "This watch is really expensive! I can't afford it."（この時計は本当に高い！手が出ないよ。）​

簡単に言えば、「pretty」は程度を和らげることが多く、「really」は強調して感情を込める場合に使われます。どちらを使うかは、話し手の意図や感情によりますね！