adjective

  1. great, excellent, admirable, remarkable, distinguished, important, celebrated, famous, eminent.
  2. very troublesome, awful, terrible. Usually written with kana alone.
  3. tiring, tough. Usually written with kana alone.

adverb

Kansai-ben. Usually written with kana alone.
  1. very, extremely.

Variations

Pronunciation Kanji Kana Is Common
 
偉い えらい
 
豪い えらい
 
 
 
エライ
 
 
 
エラい

Contained Kanji Breakdown

admirable, greatness, remarkable
えら.い イ ひで (7th, N3)
human radical (no. 9)
tanned leather radical (no. 178)
イ そむ.く (Kentei 1)
mouth
くち コウ ク (1st, N4)
sit or stand astride(跨) variant