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

Dec 1, 2018 18:48
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。
No. 1 Greg's correction
  • Both of these terms have a similar meaning, but 'majime' includes a positive connotation, whereas 'ishiatama' includes a negative connotation.
  • Both of these terms have a similar meaning, but 'majime' has a positive connotation, whereas 'ishiatama' has a negative connotation.
  • If you want to express a person who can be described by both of them, you can say as follows:
  • If you want to express that 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).
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • 'Yoku' (良く) means "good/positive," 'waruku' (悪く) means "bad/negative," and 'ieba' (言えば) means "saying/speaking."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
Toru
Thank you so much for the correction! (^^)
Greg
どういたしまして。
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