技が甘い
waza ga amai
To say your technique is weak in Japanese, say 技が甘い (waza ga amai). It means a move or skill is not precise or tight enough to be effective.
技が甘い is commonly used in martial arts, sports and competitive games to criticize how someone performs a move or plans their strategy, when it is too loose or predictable.
What does it mean word for word?
技 (waza) means technique, が marks it as the subject and 甘い (amai) literally means sweet. Here 甘い means naive, soft or lacking rigor.
Which one should you use?
テクニックがイマイチだよ。 is a casual way of saying your technique is not up to par. 君の技術はまだまだだね。 means your technique still has a long way to go, also informal. A gentler, formal option is あなたの技術には改善の余地がありますね, meaning there is room for improvement in your technique.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say the technique is far too weak, change the adjective to 技が甘すぎる.
How do you pronounce it?
Say waza ga amai with even syllables. The ending amai sounds like ah plus my.
Did you know?
- The concept of 'sweetness' as 'weakness' extends to 甘え ('amae'), a unique Japanese term for the desire to be pampered or to depend on another's kindness.
- In Japanese pop culture and anime, 甘い is frequently used by rivals or villains as a condescending one-word retort to tell an opponent their plan was naive.
- The word 甘い ('sweet') is used for many things that are 'too soft', such as a 'sweet' penalty from a referee or a 'sweet' judgment from a judge.
Examples in context
- 攻める時の技が甘い。Semeru toki no waza ga amai.Your technique is weak when you attack.
- あいつは技が甘いな。Aitsu wa waza ga amai na.That guy's technique is weak.
Example conversation
Misaki is giving Ren advice during a martial arts practice.
- 美咲 Misaki蓮、今の技が甘いよ。Ren, ima no waza ga amai yo.Ren, that move just now was weak.
- 蓮 Renえっ、どこがダメだった？E, doko ga dame datta?What? What was wrong with it?
- 美咲 Misaki足の使い方が甘い。もう一度やって。Ashi no tsukaikata ga amai. Mou ichido yatte.Your footwork is weak. Do it one more time.
- 蓮 Renわかった。次は完璧にやるよ。Wakatta. Tsugi wa kanpeki ni yaru yo.I got it. I'll do it perfectly next time.
