下手
へた
unskillful, poor
na-adjective
Conjugation Table
Present
下手だ
Negative
下手じゃない
Past
下手だった
Past Negative
下手じゃなかった
Te Form
下手で
Adverbial
下手に
Conditional
下手なら
Presumptive
下手でしょう
Example Sentences
彼は歌が下手です。
He is bad at singing.
Kare wa uta ga heta desu.
昨日、サッカーが下手だった。
I was bad at soccer yesterday.
Kinou, sakkaa ga heta datta.
彼女は絵を描くのが下手じゃない。
She is not bad at drawing.
Kanojo wa e o kaku no ga heta janai.
Grammar Notes & Usage Tips
•Particle Pairing**: When using 下手 (へた) to describe being unskillful at something, pair it with the particle が. For example, "彼は歌が下手です" (かれはうたがへたです) means "He is bad at singing."
•Na-adjective Basics**: Remember, 下手 is a na-adjective, so when you want to use it before a noun, add な, as in "下手な絵" (へたなえ), meaning "a poor drawing."
•Politeness Level**: To make 下手 more polite or formal, simply add です at the end, as in "下手です" (へたです), which is common in everyday conversation for expressing humility about your own skills.
•Negative Form**: To express the negative, use 下手じゃない (へたじゃない) to say someone is "not unskillful," conveying the opposite. For instance, "彼は料理が下手じゃない" (かれはりょうりがへたじゃない) means "He is not bad at cooking."
•な-adjective: Uses な before nouns, conjugates like a noun