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How to say "sort of like" leaning to the positive side. - Printable Version

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How to say "sort of like" leaning to the positive side. - zachandhobbes - 2010-08-10

For instance, food.

美味しい - delicious!
まま - kinda sorta meh
ちょとう。。。 - yuck

However is there any way to say in between delicious and kinda sorta meh?

Like yeah, I like this, but i don't love it enough to flip out like Japanese tarentos?


How to say "sort of like" leaning to the positive side. - Fishface - 2010-08-10

I'm no expert but how about なかなかおいしい?


How to say "sort of like" leaning to the positive side. - ali.najaf - 2010-08-10

I've gotten into the habit of saying 悪くないな。。。 but I'm not sure how natural that is.


How to say "sort of like" leaning to the positive side. - DavidZ - 2010-08-10

Seems like I've heard "まあまあおいしい" a lot.

I think なかなかおいしい is more positive. It doesn't really express mediocrity.


How to say "sort of like" leaning to the positive side. - Jarvik7 - 2010-08-10

I sometimes use these..
普通に美味しい
まあまあ好き


How to say "sort of like" leaning to the positive side. - nyquil - 2010-08-10

ali.najaf Wrote:I've gotten into the habit of saying 悪くないな。。。 but I'm not sure how natural that is.
Mimicking the French "c'est pas mal", I used to say this too, but a Japanese friend of mind would always make fun of me. I think it's a bit too negative in Japanese.

(In French "pas mal" can be qualified with tone to go from "I don't like it but don't want to say so directly", similar to "chotto", to "really quite good". It always includes a little bit of restraint whose function depends on the context. I find it very useful.)


How to say "sort of like" leaning to the positive side. - yudantaiteki - 2010-08-10

Jarvik7 Wrote:I sometimes use these..
普通に美味しい
The problem with this is that 普通に can mean すごく in slang.


How to say "sort of like" leaning to the positive side. - Jarvik7 - 2010-08-10

I've not heard that slang, but "普通に美味しい" is a common phrase and combined with tone of voice & context I think it would be pretty clear.


How to say "sort of like" leaning to the positive side. - yudantaiteki - 2010-08-10

I was wrong that it means すごく, it seems to mean 案外と but it does mean "very":
http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1213584407

Another example:
100キロカロリーシリーズの一つですが、普通に美味しかったです。

Are you sure you can use it to mean "Sort of good"?


How to say "sort of like" leaning to the positive side. - Jarvik7 - 2010-08-10

It can mean unexpectedly good, if you're eating something you expected to be awful, but it also means something is good but not extraordinary, as in "pretty good".