下手（へた）
JLPT N5 · na-adjective
Pitch accent: odaka (tail-high) — high to the end, drops on a following particle (accent on mora 2)
Meaning: bad at
Conjugation
| Form | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| te-form | 下手で | へたで |
| ta-form (past) | 下手だった | へただった |
| nai-form (negative) | 下手ではない | へたではない |
See the full conjugation table for "下手" →
Example sentences
- 私は絵を描くのが下手だ。 — I'm not good at drawing.
- 料理が下手で、よく失敗する。 — I'm bad at cooking and often mess up.
Idioms & proverbs containing “下手”
- 下手の長談義 (へたのながだんぎ) — poor speakers make long speeches; brevity is the soul of wit
- 下手な考え休むに似たり (へたなかんがえやすむににたり) — it's hard to tell a poor thinker from a sleeping one; they to whom only bad ideas come might as well be asleep; inadequate ideas are worse than none at all
- 下手の考え休むに似たり (へたのかんがえやすむににたり) — it's hard to tell a poor thinker from a sleeping one; they to whom only bad ideas come might as well be asleep; inadequate ideas are worse than none at all
- 下手な鉄砲も数撃てば当たる (へたなてっぽうもかずうてばあたる) — even the unskilled can succeed by a fluke given enough tries; even a poor marksman will hit the target with enough shots
- 下手な鉄砲も数撃ちゃ当たる (へたなてっぽうもかずうちゃあたる) — even the unskilled can succeed by a fluke given enough tries; even a poor marksman will hit the target with enough shots
- 下手の横好き (へたのよこずき) — loving something but being very bad at it
Antonyms
- 上手 (じょうず) — good at / skilled
Related words
See it used in real works
- Example sentences from Japanese novels & web fiction (Massif)
- Hear “下手” pronounced in real videos (YouGlish)