Words I Dis/Like #2

Last year I blogged about the word [適当]. It's certainly an interesting one, and it and I have a love/hate relationship. The cool thing / problem about it is that, much like the rest of the language, it's pretty ambiguous. Often that's not a problem, when the context is apparent. In fact, that means often it's really easy to use. But sometimes...sometimes it's a pain in the ass.

適当（てきとう ） means "appropriate" (Edit: "adequate", as Tokyo Five suggests, may be a better translation). It also means something like "half-assed." It seems to me that lately it's used more often in the negative sense. There have been times when I've tried to bust it out and have been misunderstood, and the problem in this case is that it means pretty much means two opposite things. So if you say 「じゃあ、適当にしようね」 (Well then, let's do this right), it could also be interpreted as "Well, let's do this half-assedly (and just finish)."

I suppose this could be avoided by using a different word or making sure your inflection also hints towards your meaning, but sometimes it's just a big hassle.

Edit: Daniel points out that "however the f*%^ you want" is a good alternative translation for 適当.

Let's enjoy Japanese: Using Japanese "appropriately"

Edit: 11/18/09

A pretty good word to be able to at least recognize over the course of your Japanese journey is the word 適当 (tekitou), sometimes appearing in it's adverb form, 適当に.

It has two distinct meanings. First off, it often means "appropriate," "suitable," or "proper."

Example: この仕事はあなたには適当じゃないよ。(This job isn't suitable for you)

A while ago I went to a little hole-in-the-wall yakitori restaurant with my friend Joe. We sat down and ordered a beer, and the old man behind the counter said something like

"適当にしましょうか?" (Roughly Sounds like "Shall we do it properly?")

I thought believe he was referring to the fact that his restaurant or that kind of place has a little set course kind of thing, although we didn't see it on the menu. Either that or he was offering to just let us buy whatever he felt like making. Sometimes the problem in these cases is that you really have no idea what "properly" or "appropriately" means. We shrugged and acquiesced, and the guy served us up some (very nearly) raw egg in what appeared to be some sort of soy sauce / vinegar mix. After that came some yakitori, which was a lot better than the egg. Be careful of the 適当 + typical Japanese vagueness combo.

The second meaning, which I haven't had a lot of experience with, is a more recent evolution of the word, if I understand correctly. This usage can be understood as "half-hearted," "random," or almost "sloppy."

Example: 彼は昨日の宿題を忘れてしまったから、適当にして出したばかりです。(Since he forgot yesterday's homework, he just sloppily half-assed it and handed it in)

適当(に) makes an excellent addition to anyone's Japanese word hoard. Let's enjoy!

Edit: Daniel at How to Japonese has some useful insights to add. The world of blogging is truly a boon to our Japanese studies!