あまりよくない
amari yokunai
The Japanese phrase for "not very good" is あまりよくない (amari yokunai).
あまりよくない is used to describe something that is of low quality or unsatisfactory. In Japanese, the word amari is used with a negative adjective or verb to mean "not very" or "not much."
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of amari (not very), yoi (good) and the negative adjective ending nai (not).
Which one should you use?
While よくない means "not good," adding amari to the start of the phrase softens the criticism to mean "not very good."
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase polite, you can replace the plain negative ending nai with the polite form arimasen, resulting in あまりよくありません.
How do you pronounce it?
amari yokunai
Did you know?
- When expressing dissatisfaction with something, Japanese speakers often bypass amari yokunai in favor of the word chotto, which literally means 'a little bit'. This creates a polite buffer that avoids the directness of 'not good'.
- The word amari is related to the concept of 'remainder' or 'surplus', which is why its positive use refers to something that exceeds a limit.
- In a high-context conversation, a Japanese speaker might simply say amari… and trail off, leaving yokunai unspoken but clearly understood by the listener.
Examples in context
- 私はあまり上手ではありません。I'm not very good.
- 彼はあまり得意ではありません。He's not very skilled.
- 私はまだ上手ではありません。I'm not yet good.
- あんまり上手じゃないけど、がんばります。I'm not very good, but I'll do my best.
- 彼は絵を描くことは得意じゃないんだ。Drawing isn't his strong suit.
- この映画はあまりよくない。Kono eiga wa amari yokunai.This movie is not very good.
- 最近の成績はあまりよくないです。Saikin no seiseki wa amari yokunai desu.My recent grades are not very good.
Example conversation
Ren and Misaki are talking about a movie they just watched.
- 蓮 Renこの映画はどうだった？Kono eiga wa dō datta?How was this movie?
- 美咲 Misakiストーリーがあまりよくないと思う。Sutōrī ga amari yokunai to omou.I think the story is not very good.
- 蓮 Ren確かに、少しつまらなかったね。Tashika ni, sukoshi tsumaranakatta ne.True, it was a bit boring.
- 美咲 Misaki次はもっといい映画を見よう。Tsugi wa motto ii eiga o miyō.Let's watch a better movie next time.
