What a waste.:“mottai nai” Japanese Phrase #324
Discover a new phrase each day to use in your Japanese! What does “もったいない。(mottai nai)” mean? Visit daily to learn some popular Japanese phrases on a regular basis!
もったいない。(mottai nai)
What a waste. / 真可惜。 / 아깝다 / Lãng phí.
When you want to describe “an unnecessary or wrong use of money, substances, time, energy, abilities, etc.”, you would be able to use “もったいない。(mottai nai)” which means “What a waste.”. Everybody could use this in daily conversations as casual and “もったいないです。(mottai nai desu)” is used as polite and formal.
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Sample 1
![](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_lossy,ret_img,w_80,h_80/https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-okawa22.jpg)
あれ?目覚まし時計は? (Oh, where is my alarm clock?) (咦?你的闹钟呢?) (어? 알람 시계는?) (Ủa? Còn đồng hồ báo thức đâu rồi?) (are? mezamashi dokei wa?)
![](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_lossy,ret_img,w_80,h_80/https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-yuka85.jpg)
![](https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-yuka85.jpg)
![](https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-yuka85.jpg)
動いてなかったから、捨てたよ。 (I threw it away cuz it didn’t work.) (闹钟不走了。我就把它扔掉了。) (멈춰 버려서 버렸어.) (Vì nó không chạy nữa nên tôi vứt nó đi rồi.) (ugoi te nakatta kara, suteta yo.)
![](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_lossy,ret_img,w_80,h_80/https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-okawa43.jpg)
![](https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-okawa43.jpg)
![](https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-okawa43.jpg)
もったいない。電池変えたら動くよ。 (What a waste. If changing the battery, it’ll work.) (真可惜,只要换一下电池它应该就能继续走的。) (아깝다. 건전지 바꾸면 움직일텐데.) (Lãng phí quá. Thay pin thì nó sẽ chạy mà.) (mottai nai. denchi kaetara ugoku yo.)
Sample 2
![](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_lossy,ret_img,w_80,h_80/https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-yuka37.jpg)
![](https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-yuka37.jpg)
![](https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-yuka37.jpg)
あれ?パソコン捨てたんですか? (Oh, did you throw the computer away?) (咦?你把电脑扔掉了吗?) (어? 컴퓨터 버리셨어요?) (Ủa? Bạn đã vứt máy tính rồi hả?) (are? pasokon suteta n desu ka?)
![](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_lossy,ret_img,w_80,h_80/https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-okawa31.jpg)
![](https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-okawa31.jpg)
![](https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-okawa31.jpg)
ええ、捨てましたよ。 (Yes, I did.) (是的,我扔掉了。) (네, 버렸어요.) (Vâng, tôi đã vứt nó đi rồi.) (ee, sute mashita yo.)
![](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_lossy,ret_img,w_80,h_80/https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-yuka11.jpg)
![](https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-yuka11.jpg)
![](https://jpyokoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan-yuka11.jpg)
もったいないですよ。まだ使えましたよ。 (What a waste. It’s still usable.) (真可惜。它应该还能用吧。) (아깝네요. 아직 쓸 수 있었을텐데요) (Lãng phí quá vậy. Vẫn còn sử dụng được mà.) (mottai nai desu yo. mada tsukae mashita yo.)
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