adverbial N1 uncommon casualpolitewritten
下手に — carelessly / ill-advisedly / clumsily
下手に ・ へたに
Meaning
- carelessly / ill-advisedly / rashly — if one does it without due caution, a bad result follows
Key sentence
下手に動くと、もっと事態が悪化する。
If you move carelessly, the situation will only get worse.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adverb | 下手に + V (usually + と / ば / たら + an undesirable result) | 下手に口を出すと |
Examples
下手に慰めると、かえって相手を傷つける。
An ill-judged attempt at comfort can wound the other person instead.
事情を知らずに下手に動くのは危険だ。
It's dangerous to act rashly without knowing the circumstances.
When you can't use it
- In this grammatical sense it warns that acting without proper care backfires, so it pairs with a clause stating a bad outcome. It is not simply the adverb of 下手 'unskillful' (× 下手にピアノを弾く for merely playing badly).
Notes
- From 下手 'unskillful' — here it means acting without proper care, so that the action proves counterproductive.
See 下手に in real sentences
Jengo shows 下手に the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar.