Japanese word

ろくな

Pronunciation

Romajirokuna

Meaning

  • pre-noun adjectivaldecent

Example

この店にはろくな料理がありません。ko no mise ni wa ro ku na ryō ri ga a ri ma se n

This restaurant has no decent food.

Illustration for ろくな (decent)

More examples

彼女はろくな理由もなく、予定を変えました。kano jo wa ro ku na ri yū mo na ku yo tei o ka e ma shi ta

She changed her plans without a decent reason.

Core concept

ろくな (rokuna) marks something as meeting an ordinary standard of quality or acceptability, especially when a negative expression says that nothing does.

Common phrases

  • ろくなものro ku na mo no

    anything decent

  • ろくな人ro ku na hito

    a decent person

  • ろくなことro ku na ko to

    anything good

  • ろくな理由ro ku na ri yū

    a decent reason

  • ろくな話ro ku na hanashi

    a decent story

Similar words

まともmatomo: Meeting ordinary standards of quality, behavior, or usefulness.

Definition in Japanese

普通の水準を満たしていて、これといった不満のない。fu tsū no sui jun o mi ta shi te i te ko re to i tta fu man no na i

Word origin

ろくな (rokuna) combines ろく (roku), meaning proper or satisfactory, with な (na), the attributive form used after an adjectival noun; the historical origin of ろく in this sense is uncertain.

Usage tips

  • ろくな仕事がない (rokuna shigoto ga nai) can describe a lack of worthwhile jobs, so the phrase conveys a judgment about quality rather than simply meaning "few jobs."

Opposites

  • ろくでもないrokudemonaiworthlessi-adjective

Word lists with this word