何の言葉03 甘い(amai)

Hi readers!

Today I want to introduce a Japanese word that got me mindblown 🤯 !

The word is “甘い” (amai).

Sounds familiar? Yep, you guessed it! The simple meaning is “sweet (taste)” like the taste of candy or sugar 🍬.

But do you know 甘い can be used to describe people? (but not in a good way)

Meaning of 甘い :

1. sweet taste

2. “loving someone too much and do anything he/she would like.”

This meaning is the same as to “spoil” or “pamper” someone eg. a parent spoiling their child (Mama’s boy or Daddy’s princess).

• 息子に甘い (musuko ni amai) = spoil one’s son

You can also say;

• 自分に甘い (jibun ni amai) = be easy on oneself

Usually it has a negative nuance when you are describing someone else as 甘い , but it can also be positive depending on the situation.

3. ”not taking things seriously and being careless”

For this, there are two examples you can think of:

• 考えが甘い (kangae ga amai) = naive thinking

• “甘く見る” which means “to underestimate” or “look down on“.

  For example,

  「彼を甘く見ない方がいいよ。」(kare wo amaku minai hou ga ii yo)

  = It’s better to not think lightly of him.
  　→ He is a greater or stronger person than you might think.
   

English phrases with similar meaning to 甘い:

“spoilt”
“pamper”
“naive”
“lenient”
“innocent”

 💡World outside of home

There is a phrase called “seken shirazu” 世間知らず which means “ignorant about the ways of the world”;

世間 (seken) means the world outside your home, or society
知らず means 知らない(shiranai)

For example,

両親が甘すぎたから、彼は世間知らずだ。
His parents spoiled him too much, so he is ignorant about the world now.

So a 世間知らずな人 is someone who doesn’t know about social etiquette, or general knowledge on how to live independently in society due to their inexperience. For example, not knowing how to take the train, or rules when in public.

１．このケーキ甘すぎ・・・全部食べられないかも。
　　This cake is too sweet… I don’t think I can eat all of it.

２．そんな甘い考えでは、試合に勝てないよ！
　　With that kind of naive/wishful thinking, you can’t win the competition!

３．彼は、他人にはきびしいけど、自分には甘いんだよね。
　　He is strict with others, but lenient on himself, don’t you think?

４．おばあちゃんは私に甘すぎて、何でも買ってくれる。
　　My grandmother spoils me too much, she buys me anything.

Japanese phrases with similar meaning to 甘い:

・やさしい（yasashii）
・甘やかす（amayakasu）
・弱い（yowai）

Now you might wonder what’s the real meaning of “Amasugi” in Amasugi Letter… 🤫

Hope you enjoyed this one!

Sincerely,
Amasugi Letter