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When doing karate years ago the sensei would use the word ''yoi'' to instruct
the students to take a ready/prepared stance.

I didn't speak any Japanese then but I remember the word.

Now I'm learning Japanese and I've come across the word ''yoi'' which means
good/nice.

Are these two meanings for the same word or are they just homonyms?
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2019-10-17T11:25:26.110
72574
2019-10-18T17:32:27.617
29665
question
words
Is the ''yoi'' meaning ''ready'' when doing karate the same as the ''yoi'' which means nice/good?
They are different words. They are not only different in kanji/kana but also
very **different in pronunciation**.

  * [良い](https://jisho.org/word/%E8%89%AF%E3%81%84) = よい = good, nice
  * [用意](https://jisho.org/word/%E7%94%A8%E6%84%8F) = ようい = preparation, readiness

That is, 用意 has an elongated vowel, which is a distinguishing feature in the
Japanese language. For details, see [long-vowels](/questions/tagged/long-
vowels "show questions tagged 'long-vowels'") tag and this question: [Are
there many occurances of elongated syllables throughout the
language?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/65027/5010)
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2019-10-17T12:14:21.163
72576
2019-10-17T12:14:21.163
5010
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Keep in mind, "良い" by itself, it not usually pronounced like "yoi". Most of
them say, "ii". However, in past tense, Japanese people will say "yokatta!"
(良かった), and 仲良い is pronounced "nakayoi".

And like naruto pointed out, the word for readiness is "Youi", not "Yoi"
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2019-10-18T17:32:27.617
72597
2019-10-18T17:32:27.617
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72574
answer