Yoku Ieba, Waruku Ieba (良く言えば～、悪く言えば～)

Yoku Ieba, Waruku Ieba,

I introduced you to the Japanese term 'ishiatama' (石頭 - hard head/inflexible) yesterday, and 'majime' (真面目 - serious/earnest) several days ago.

Both of these terms have a similar meaning, but 'majime' includes a positive connotation, whereas 'ishiatama' includes a negative connotation.

If you want to express a person who can be described by both of them, you can say as follows:

"Yoku ieba majime, waruku ieba ishiatama" (良く言えば真面目、悪く言えば石頭).

'Yoku' (良く) means "good/positive," 'waruku' (悪く) means "bad/negative," and 'ieba' (言えば) means "saying/speaking."

Therefore, the above expression means that he/she is 'majime' (earnest) in a good way of saying, but 'ishiatama' (inflexible) in a bad way of saying.

良く言えば～、悪く言えば～

昨日は「石頭」という言葉を、数日前は「真面目」という言葉を紹介しました。

これらは似た意味を持ちますが、「真面目」は良いニュアンスを含む一方で、「石頭」は悪いニュアンスを含みます。

誰かの性格を表す際に、これらのどちらも言葉を当てはまる場合は、次のように言うことができます。

「良く言えば真面目、悪く言えば石頭。」

「良く」は "good/positive," 「悪く」は "bad/negative," 「言えば」は "saying/speaking" を意味します。

すなわちこの表現は、"He/she is 'majime' (earnest) in a good way of saying, but 'ishiatama' (inflexible) in a bad way of saying." という意味になります。