What does mazui mean?まずい！

03/09/201307/03/2020

The word “mazui（まずい）” that often appears in Japanese conversations is used regardless of gender or age.
It has several meanings.

Let’s take a closer look at “mazui”.

What does “mazui” mean?

The meaning and simple example using “mazui" are as follows.

Kanojo no ryouri wa mazui.
彼女の料理はまずい。
Her cooking is bad.

Sameta koucha wa mazukute nomenai.
冷めた紅茶はまずくて飲めない。
I don’t like cold tea because it tastes horrible.

Guchi wa yamete kureru?. Sake ga mazuku narukara.
愚痴はやめてくれる？酒がまずくなるから。
Can you stop grumbling? I can’t enjoy drinking.

Uwa, mazu!
うわっ、まず！
Ew, bad taste!

Nanikore, chou mazui!
なにこれ超まずい。
What is this? Not tasty at all.

In the case that “mazui” is regarding a taste, the opposite words are “oishii（おいしい、美味しい）” or “umai（うまい、美味い）”.

Koko de shippai shitara mazui.
ここで失敗したらまずい。
It is bad if we fail here.

Anna koto wo itte mazukatta ne.
あんなことを言ってまずかったね。
It was not good to have said such a thing.

Kono tegami wo kyoujuu ni todokenaito mazui.
この手紙を今日中に届けないとまずい。
We will be in trouble if we can’t deliver this letter today.

Mazui tokoro de kare ni dekuwashite shimatta.
まずいところで彼に出くわしてしまった。
I came across him at bad timing.

Kare no uta wa mazui.
彼の歌はまずい。
His singing is bad.

Kore wa dare no kiji? Mazui bunshou dana.
これは誰の記事？まずい文章だな。
Whose article is this? It is bad writing.

“Mazui” is written in hiragana（まずい）, kanji and hiragana（不味い）, or katakana and hiragana（マズい）.

It is said that the etymology became colloquial from the old word “mazushi”. “Mazushi” means “bad taste”, “awkward” or the like.

The following are youth words that have become popular recently.
(Only in casual situations)

Geki-mazu (Really bad taste)
Kono ryouri, geki-mazu!
この料理、激マズ！
This food is horrible!

“Gekimazu" and other words are used together.

gekimazu ryouri（food, meal, dish, etc.)
劇マズ料理

gekimzazu raamen (noodle)
激マズラーメン

gekimazu resutoran (restaurant)
激マズレストラン

Mazu-meshi (not nice dish)
マズ飯

Posted by Lasso