Not So Good
Not Really, Delicate, Doubtful
noun, な adjective
This word is pretty weird. It has two distinct sort of meanings. One is the "not so good" meaning, and the other is the "delicate" meaning. Lately the "not so good" meaning has taken priority, I think, so let's focus on that for now. Something is both delicate and strange. This delicate strange thing really is just not so good. It's not terrible, but it's not great either. It's just not so good. Why? Because if you touch it too hard, it will break. Also, it's not that normal either, so it's not helpful to you. Imagine a thing that could be like this, then think: Is this good? not really. It's not so good.
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on'yomi readings from the kanji. If you know the readings of your kanji you'll know how to read this as well.
うーん…なんとも微妙な感じですね。
Well... I have mixed feelings.
微妙なコメントしか思いつかなかったので、結局何も言いませんでした。
I could only come up with doubtful comments, so I ended up saying nothing.
その絵、微妙に曲がってない?
Isn't that picture slightly crooked?
彼氏から誕生日に極楽鳥花を貰ったんだけど、彼のセンスちょっと微妙だと思わない?
My boyfriend gave me a Bird of Paradise plant for my birthday. His taste is not so good, don't you think?