sensushi
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のが下手 details

write + bad at doing

kaku no ga heta

bad at doing

meaning: be bad at writing

弟おとうとは料理りょうりを作るつくるのがへた。

otouto wa ryouri o tsukuru no ga heta.

My younger brother is bad at making food. neutral

私わたし、片付かたづけるのが下手へたでさ、部屋へやがすぐ散ちらかるんだ。

watashi, katazukeru no ga heta de sa, heya ga sugu chirakaru n da.

I'm bad at tidying up, so my room gets messy in no time. casual

  • polite
  • past
  • negative

Examples

bad at doing — の nominalizes the verb so the na-adjective 下手 can grade the person's skill at it with が

弟おとうとは料理りょうりを作つくるのがへたです。

otouto wa ryouri o tsukurunogahetadesu.

My younger brother is bad at making food. neutral

私わたし、片付かたづけるのが下手へたでさ、部屋へやがすぐ散ちらかるんだ。

watashi, katazukeru no ga heta de sa, heya ga sugu chirakaru n da.

I'm bad at tidying up, so my room gets messy in no time. casual

昔むかしから人前ひとまえで話はなすのが下手へたでした。

mukashi kara hitomae de hanasu no ga heta deshita.

I was always bad at speaking in front of people. neutral

Formation

Notes

苦手にがて is the softer neighbour: 下手へた judges skill, 苦手にがて
reports aversion — 納豆なっとうが苦手にがて is dislike with no skill in
it, and ×納豆なっとうが下手へた is not Japanese.

Related patterns

Similar

  • にくい

    のが下手 grades the PERSON and needs one as its topic; 〜にくい grades the ACT and holds for whoever attempts it — 字じを書かくのが下手へただ blames the writer, この字じは書かきにくい blames the character.

Opposite

  • のが上手plain-antonym

    The two ends of one scale, but they are not used symmetrically — 上手 praises someone else and sounds like boasting about oneself, while 下手 is the ordinary self-report (私わたしは歌うたうのが下手へたです) and is blunt enough to sting when said of the listener.