下手

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 歌が下手です。▶ —
   I am bad at singing.
2. 運転が下手だ。▶ —
   I am a poor driver.

Collocations

Mnemonic

へた — 下手, a Sino-Japanese-based na-adjective. The opposite of 上手 jouzu. Unpack the two kanji ── 下 (lower) + 手 (hand) = 'a low hand' = low skill. A Japanese cultural code ── when speaking of one's own ability, a Japanese person reaches for 下手 before 上手. 日本語が下手です (my Japanese is poor) is less a factual statement than a self-introduction ritual following the 謙遜 kenson code. A subtle near-pair, 苦手 nigate ('a bitter hand') ── 下手: simply lacking skill (objective). 苦手: adds emotional rejection and psychological discomfort (subjective). 数学が苦手 = 'I dislike math and struggle with it'. The idiom 下手の横好き heta no yokozuki = 'a hobby loved despite being bad at it' ── used warmly for what one keeps doing out of love, not skill. The Korean readings ha / su are sister to the onyomi か / しゅ.

Quick check

1. Nuance split between heta and nigate?

   • Heta = objective "lack of skill"; nigate = subjective "rejection + struggle"
   • Synonyms
   • Heta adjective, nigate noun
   • Period split