Slacking off
Idioms, Stage 3chunk 16 of 22Effort, ease & difficulty
The opposite of effort: half-hearted, easing off, and cutting corners.
- chuuto hanpahalf-done, half-heartedliterally “midway, half-finished”
- ki o nukulet your guard down, ease offliterally “pull out one's ki”
- te o nukuslack off, cut cornersliterally “pull one's hands out”
Mix-ups ki o nuku and te o nuku differ by one word: ki means letting your attention slip (often a warning), while te means cutting corners on purpose.
chuuto hanpa
“midway, half-finished”
half-done, half-hearted
In English: do things by halves
Criticises half-finished work or half-hearted commitment (chuuto hanpa ni yaru nara yamero, chuuto hanpa na kimochi), and describes anything stuck awkwardly in between (chuuto hanpa na jikan, an awkward time). Na before nouns, ni before verbs.
Slang hanpa nai (from hanpa ja nai) means insane, incredible.
nanka chuuto hanpa ni owatchatta
It kind of ended up half-finished.
なんか中途半端に終わっちゃった
nandaka chuuto hanpa ni owatte shimaimashita
It kind of ended up half-finished.
なんだか中途半端に終わってしまいました
Written 中途半端 · ちゅうとはんぱHeard 47× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside ki o nuku, te o nuku
ki o nuku
polite ki o nukimasu
“pull out one's ki”
let your guard down, ease off
In English: let your guard down
Mostly a warning to stay sharp until it's over (ki o nuku na, ki o nukanaide), or about a slip: chotto ki o nuita suki ni (the moment I let my guard down). It can also be easing off on purpose (tama ni wa ki o nuku no mo daiji). Not te o nuku, which is deliberately doing less.
Intransitive ki ga nukeru: feel deflated; (drinks) go flat.
saigo made ki o nuku na yo
Don't let up till the very end.
最後まで気を抜くなよ
saigo made ki o nukanaide kudasai ne
Please don't let up until the very end.
最後まで気を抜かないでくださいね
Written 気を抜く · きをぬくHeard 56× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside chuuto hanpa, te o nuku
te o nuku
polite te o nukimasu
“pull one's hands out”
slack off, cut corners
In English: cut corners
Doing a task with less effort than it deserves, about chores, cooking, work or a game: kyou wa ryouri te o nuichatta, te o nuku na. Not ki o nuku, which is losing focus rather than deliberately doing less.
Noun: tenuki (tenuki ryouri = a lazy meal).
kyou wa bangohan te nuichatta
I cut corners on dinner tonight.
今日は晩ご飯手抜いちゃった
kyou no bangohan wa chotto te o nuichaimashita
I cut corners on dinner tonight.
今日の晩ご飯はちょっと手を抜いちゃいました
Written 手を抜く · てをぬくHeard 32× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside chuuto hanpa, ki o nuku