Phrases You Won't Find in Textbooks · 06 of 11
The Middle Ground Words
Oss! In Japan, we don't say "good" or "bad." We live in the middle. 3 words for everything in between.
微妙
Means "kinda meh / not great, not bad." A: あのレストランどうやった？ B: 微妙やったわ〜.
普通
Means "normal / nothing special / average." A: 新しい iPhone どう？ B: 普通やわ〜. This is the most Japanese answer ever.
まあまあ
Means "so-so / decent / pretty good actually." A: 試験どうやった？ B: まあまあやったわ〜. Could be 50% or 80%, no one knows. That's the magic.