何の言葉21 微妙 (bimyou)

Hi!

Have you been in a situation where you didn’t have a good experience recently?

Recently, I went on a short getaway to the highlands for a breath of fresh air, and the experience was ok, it wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t so great either.

Thinking of how to describe this experience in Japanese, other than マシ, which is comparing between a few bad options, I wanted to find another suitable word.

So today’s 何の言葉 is used to describe an experience of “it wasn’t very terrible but we can’t say it was great either” 😅 but without wanting to offend or criticize it too harshly.

Today’s word is:

What does 微妙 mean?

微妙 (bimyou) has a wide variety of meanings, but the most common way is to use it to “describe a bad impression of something, but in a subtle way”:

1. Not that great (Used to soften a bad impression)

   Example:

• 人気のケーキを食べたけど、味は微妙だったよ。
  (Ninki no keeki wo tabeta kedo, aji wa bimyou dattayo.)
  I ate the popular cake, but the taste was a bit iffy.

Other examples:

• 微妙な味 (bimyou na aji) = not great taste

• 微妙なギャグ (bimyou na gyagu) = lame joke (not funny joke)

• 微妙な空気 (bimyou na kuuki) = awkward atmosphere

   

  2. Slightly; subtle (difference)

If used as 微妙に (bimyou ni) or 微妙な (bimyou na), the meaning changes to “slightly or subtle”.

Note:" Below the examples are used in a neutral context, compared the first meaning which is negative:

• 砂糖が微妙に足りない。
  （Satou ga bimyou ni tarinai.）
  The sugar is slightly not enough.

• あの双子はとても似てるけど、目が微妙にちがう。
  （Ano futago wa totemo niteru kedo, me ga bimyou ni chigau.）
  That twins looks very similar, but their eyes are slightly different.

• この微妙なニュアンスのちがい、わかるかな？
  (Kono bimyou na nyuansu no chigai, wakarukana?)
  Do you get this subtle difference of the nuance?

How to write 微妙？
It is usually written in Kanji, but it makes sense even in katakana or hiragana. In casual messages or something, we sometimes use ビミョー or びみょう.

Similar English phrases:

“subtle”
“not great”
“not the best”
“slightly”

 💡 びみょう also means ‘I’m not sure if I can make it’

Bimyou can be used when confirming plans with someone, and you want to say ‘I’m not sure if it’s possible’ by using this structure:

～か微妙 (~ka bimyou) or ～かどうか微妙 (~ka douka bimyou)　
= I’m not sure if (I) can…

１．「JLPTのテストどうだった？」　「微妙だった・・・」
　　（"JLPT no tesuto dou datta?" "Bimyou datta…”）
　　”How was your JLPT exam?” “It was not that great…”

２．台風が来てるから、飛行機が飛ぶかどうか微妙だ。
　　（taifū ga kiteru kara, hikouki ga tobu ka do ka bimyou da.）
　　The typhoon is coming, so it’s unclear if our airplane will fly or not.

３．なんかこの部屋、微妙に暑くない？
　　（nanka kono heya, bimyou ni atsukunai?）
　　This room is a bit hot, don’t you think?

４．この料理、微妙にシナモンの味がする。
　　（kono ryouri, bimyou ni shinamon no aji ga suru.）
　　I feel a subtle cinnamon taste in this dish.

５．「あのラーメン屋さんどうだった？」「微妙かな。」
　　 (”Ano raamen yasan doudatta?” “Bimyou kana.”)　
　　”How did you like that ramen restaurant?” “Not that great.”

Similar Japanese phrases:

・あんまり(anmari) *for a bad meaning only
・いまいち(imaichi) *for a bad meaning only