How to Say ‘Not good at; weak at’ in Japanese
苦手
nigate
[nee-gah-teh]
💬 Usage Tip: [苦手] is the noun/na-adjective form. With [です], it becomes polite: [苦手です].
🇯🇵 In Japan: As a weakness word, [苦手] feels gentler than [下手] (“unskilled”), which can sound harsh about yourself.
Phrase Breakdown
苦手
nigate
[nee-gah-teh]
not good at; weak in
Often used as 苦手です or 苦手な to describe a weakness. Interview-friendly when paired with effort to improve.
私は数字の説明が苦手ですが練習しています。
I’m not good at explaining numbers, but I’m practicing.
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