拙い vs. 下手: Which is Used in Business Situations?
What is the difference between “拙い and 下手“? Which is Used in Business Situations? After reading this, you would be answering this question. Let me introduce what their subtle differences are and how you correctly use them such as native speakers today!
拙い (tsutanai) / 下手 (heta)
Bad/Be not good at, Poor, etc / 笨拙/不擅长 / 서투른/잘 못하는 / Vụng về/kém cỏi
Both “拙い and 下手” mean “Bad, Be not good at, Poor, etc” which have been used as the meaning of “Less competent or skillful at”. “拙い” is “Kenjougo” of “下手” and “Kenjougo” is a humble way of speaking in which you humble yourself or lower your rank below the person you’re speaking to that is used in business situations. The basic way to use them is that “拙い” is an adjective and “拙い___(noun)” or “___(noun)は/が拙い”. For instance, “拙い説明(lack of explanation)”, “拙い文章(bad sentence)”, “日本語が拙い(Someone’s Japanese is poor)”, etc. And “下手” is an adjective or a noun and “下手な___” or “___(noun)は/が下手“. For instance, “下手な説明(lack of explanation)”, “下手な文章(bad sentence)”, “日本語が下手(Someone’s Japanese is poor)”, etc. Again “拙い” is “Kenjougo”, so which is used in business situations, especially speech, talking to your boss or people who you think higher skill than you.








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