まあまあ
māmā[ma̠ːma̠ː]
The Japanese phrase for "so so" is まあまあ (māmā).
まあまあ is used to describe something that is mediocre, okay, fair or neither very good nor very bad. Beyond describing quality, it is frequently used as an interjection meaning "well, well" or "all right" to express mild approval, acceptance or to try to calm a situation.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you use まあまあ as a predicate to describe a noun, you can add the copula da to form a complete sentence, such as まあまあだ.
How do you pronounce it?
māmā
Did you know?
- Despite sounding almost identical to the Cantonese expression 麻麻地 for 'so-so', linguists believe this is a coincidence and that the two phrases are not related.
- While まあまあ means 'so-so', if you use it to describe your own skill or achievement, it is often seen as an act of modesty rather than a complaint about quality.
- When used to calm someone down, まあまあ is often accompanied by a gentle waving motion of the hand to visually signal 'let it go'.
Examples in context
- 「調子どんな？」「まあまあ」"How is it going?" "So-so."This example shows how to use まあまあ to respond to a question about how things are going.Tatoeba #10616349 by small_snow, translation #10616340 by maaster
- 先生としては、まあまあだね。As a teacher, he's only so-so.This sentence uses まあまあ to describe a person's ability or status as a teacher.Tatoeba #10655976 by small_snow, translation #9008487 by AlanF_US
- まあまあ。大したことないよ。So-so, nothing special.This example shows まあまあ being used to express that something is nothing special.Tatoeba #11064159 by small_snow, translation #2886625 by AlanF_US
- 彼の演技はまずまずです。His performance was so so.
- 彼女の絵は平凡ですね。Her painting is rather so so, isn't it?
- 今日のテストはまあまあだったよ。Today's test was so so/okay.
- このカレー、なんか物足りないな。This curry is kind of lacking something.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A conversation between two friends at a cafe about a recent movie.
- 陽太 Yotaあの映画、どうだった？Ano eiga, dou datta?How was that movie?
- 美咲 Misakiまあまあかな。Maa maa kana.It was so so, I guess.
- 陽太 Yota面白くなかった？Omoshirokunakatta?Was it not interesting?
- 美咲 Misakiストーリーはまあまあだったよ。Sutoorii wa maa maa datta yo.The story was so so.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry まあまあ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries まあまあ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
