Is すごい slang or just informal?


Regarding `すごい`:

  1. What is the right way to spell it?

  2. Is it vulgar, or is it slang like the English "cool"?, or informal or colloquial? Is it archaic?

  3. If it is slang, does it have a non-slang meaning?

  4. If it would be considered too slangy or informal, is `すばらしい` the right word to use in its place?




I've taught すごい to friends as their first or second word too, it's very
useful. I wouldn't say that it means "cool" though, more like "wow!". You
can't use it to say "a cool guy". On its own as exclamation it means "cool"
(like when you're looking at some great scenery). It's a little informal when
used on it's own like that. You can definitely use it in a less informal way,
but the meaning there is "very", not "wow!".

> 昨日はすごく寒かったです。 - It was very cold yesterday.

I think to make it even more formal, you can use 大変

> 昨日は大変寒かったです。 - It was very cold yesterday

I don't know if the strength of the coldness changes between them. 大変 might
sound a little stronger.

The other meanings are "dreadful" and "horrible", or really anything adjective
that you want to make stronger: "tasty" -> "delicious" (すごくおいしい), "beautiful"
-> "gorgeous" (すごくきれい), "loud" -> "ear-splittingly loud" (すごくうるさい).

For example すごく怖かった - Very frightening.

The slangier examples are すげえ, which is kind of masculine, and
[すんごい](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm4BGK-XkXI), which adds (even more)
emphasis. You can extend the え in すげえ (すげえぇぇぇ) or extend the ん in すんごい for
added effect.

**Edit** I realise that I didn't actually answer the question. Like Mark, I
have trouble differentiating between slang and informal and even though I said
"slangy" in my original answer, I think that using it to mean "wow!" is just
informal, not slangy.

