「ゴージャス」 is an English word used in Japanese, and usually it means something like 「素晴らしい」. In Japanese, 「ゴージャス」 has a much wider meaning than it does in English. I also think that it is a word that is taught in high school English, but without much explanation of how to use it. That means that sometimes Japanese people use "gorgeous" in strange ways in English.

何を言っているのか？

When you say "gorgeous" in English, what do English speakers understand?

"Gorgeous" has two was of being used in English:

1. beautiful or wonderful in appearance: She was wearing a gorgeous dress; It was a gorgeous sunset. In Japanese, 「極めて美しい」, 「見事な」 or 「魅力的な」.
2. (informal) enjoyable or pleasant: I had a gorgeous evening; It was a gorgeous meal. In Japanese, 「すてきな」 or 「楽しい」.

The mistakes that people make often result from them thinking, "In Japanese, I would say 「素晴らしい」 or 「すてき」 in this case, so I must be able to say "gorgeous", because my dictionary says "gorgeous" means 「素晴らしい意」 or 「すてき」." The problem is that often an English to Japanese dictionary will not tell you everything about how to use a word.

There are two things to remember about using the word "gorgeous" in English:

1. You can only use "gorgeous" when you are talking about how things look. "Gorgeous" is the same as "beautiful".
2. "Gorgeous", when it is used informally, is a word that is usually used more by women. Men would only use "gorgeous" to talk about a beautiful woman.

こう言いましょう

When people say "gorgeous" in English, they often mean one of the following words:

• wonderful;
• excellent;
• fun;
• luxurious;
• opulent; or
• fancy. 

"Gorgeous" does not mean "expensive".

Next time you want to say "gorgeous", try using one of the above words like this:

• We stayed in a very fancy hotel;
• It was a wonderful party;
• It was an excellent performance;
• The BBQ was really fun.

Here are some examples of unnatural sentences using "gorgeous" found on the internet:

• ...a chance to make my career gorgeous → make an excellent career for myself.
• I can't forget a gorgeous music → I can't forget the amazing music.
• Camping was really gorgeous!　→ Camping was lots of fun!
• ...gorgeous memories → wonderful memories.
• ...a beautiful and gorgeous big hotel → a beautiful, opulent hotel.
• Ramen isn't a gorgeous dish, but we love it → Ramen isn't a fancy dish, but we love it.
• ...for a gorgeous future → for a successful future.

Practice

Think of the word 「ゴージャス」 and write five sentences using the words recommended above. Send your sentences to Poligo and we will check them for you.