Mazui (まずい)
Meaning: Bad, Terrible, Disgusting, In trouble, Mess up, Not good
Romaji: Mazui
Hiragana: まずい
Katakana: マズイ
Kanji: 不味い, 拙い
Antonym: うまい, 美味い, 上手い
About Taste
Mazui is used for the taste of food and also for bad situations. The kanji for 不味い is “不(Not)” and “味い（Tasty）” means. Since “不味い” is not commonly used, it is written as “まずい” in hiragana. Mazui for taste is “bad” instead of “not good,” so it is a strong expression. “not good” is used with Oishikunai(美味しくない).
It’s rude to say mazui to the person who served the food, so be careful. Instead, it’s better to say, “I don’t like it,” or “I’m full.”
・ここのラーメン屋はまずい。
Kokono ramenya wa mazui
The ramen shop here is bad.
・ 彼は料理に塩、砂糖を入れすぎて、すごくまずかったです。
Kare wa ryourini shio、satouwo iresugite sugoku mazukatta desu
He put in too much salt and sugar, so it was disgusting.
About bad situation
Mazui is also used when the situation is not good. For example, when you lose something, you use mazui like oh my god. Mazui, used at this time has the same meaning as Yabai(やばい).
・財布にはたくさんのお金が入ってたのに失くしてしまった。これはまずい状況です。
Saifu niwa takusanno okanega haitte itanoni nakushitesimatta。korewa mazui jyoukyou desu。
I had a lot of money in my wallet, but I lost it. This is a bad situation.
・ああ、これはまずいことになるぞ！
Aa、korewa mazui kotoni naruzo!
Oh my god, this is going to be a big problem！
Poor
When it means “inferior in ability” or “poor,” it is written as 拙い. Reading 拙い as “mazui” is a slang expression. Note that the formal reading is ‘tsutanai.’
“拙い” and “下手” have the same meaning, but “拙い” is more formal. “拙い” is often used to express an apology for one’s poor performance.
・拙い日本語力でも何とかコミュニケーションをとることができた
tsutanai nihongoryoku demo nantoka komyunike-syon wo torukoto ga dekita
I managed to communicate even with my poor Japanese ability.
・拙い文章ですが〜
Tsutanai bunsyou desuga~
Poor writing, but~
・拙い説明ではございましたが～
Tsutanai setsumei dewa gozaimashitaga~
Sorry for the poor explanation,
