未満
miman
The English phrase 'less than' is translated into Japanese as 未満 (miman).
未満 is used to describe a quantity that is smaller than a specific number and does not include that number. For a more descriptive way to express 'less than ~' when comparing quantities, you can also use ～より少ない.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 未満 consists of two kanji: 未, which means 'not yet' or 'not' and 満, which means 'full' or 'to reach'. Together, the word literally means 'not yet reaching' the specified amount.
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish 未満 from 以下. While 未満 means 'less than' (excluding the number), 以下 means 'less than or equal to' (including the number).
How do you pronounce it?
miman
Did you know?
- The word 満 in 未満 is the same character used in the word 満員 (man'in), which means 'a full train' or 'full capacity'.
- In Japanese business or legal documents, using 未満 instead of 以下 can be the difference between a client being eligible for a discount or not.
- While English speakers use 'under' for both age and quantity, Japanese often uses 未満 specifically for precise numerical thresholds, whereas 下 refers to general lower positions.
Examples in context
- ５万円未満の場合は、非課税になります。It's tax exempt if it's less than ¥50,000.This sentence is useful for demonstrating how to express tax exemption for amounts less than a specific value using 未満.Tatoeba #9851707 by small_snow, translation #10294673 by CK
- 50未満Less than 50
- 彼の財産は300万円未満です。His wealth is less than 3 million yen.
- 気温が十度未満です。Kion ga juudo miman desu.The temperature is less than ten degrees.
- 予算は千円未満にしてください。Yosan wa sen'en miman ni shite kudasai.Please keep the budget under one thousand yen.
Example conversation
Youta and Misaki are checking the requirements for a contest.
- 陽太 Yotaこのコンテストは、30歳未満限定みたいだよ。kono kontesuto wa, sanjussai miman gentei mitai da yo.It looks like this contest is limited to those under 30.
- 美咲 Misakiえっ、じゃあ私は参加できないね。e, jaa watashi wa sanka dekinai ne.What, then I can't participate.
- 陽太 Yota美咲さんは30歳ちょうどだもんね。Misaki-san wa sanjussai choudo da mon ne.Since you are exactly 30, Misaki.
- 美咲 Misaki残念だけど、ルールだから仕方ないね。zannen dakedo, ruuru dakara shikatanai ne.It's a shame, but it's the rule so it can't be helped.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
