Translation guide
How to express 'make a mess of' in Japanese, covering physical messes, mistakes, and ruining things.
To create disorder, scatter things, or make a place untidy.
A common verb meaning to scatter things around and make a mess. Often used for rooms or desks.
To cause something to fail or go wrong through poor handling.
To ruin, spoil, or mess up something like a plan, event, or mood. Very common.
彼のミスで計画が台無しになった。
His mistake made a mess of the plan.
To perform a task poorly or incorrectly.
散らかす is for physical disorder (like a messy room). 台無しにする is for ruining abstract things like plans, moods, or reputations.
The English phrase 'make a mess of' doesn't have a single direct equivalent. Choose the Japanese expression based on whether you mean physical mess, ruining something, or making a mistake.
部屋を散らかさないで。
Don't make a mess of the room.
Intransitive: to become messy. Use this when the mess happens by itself or you want to describe the state.
部屋が散らかっている。
The room is a mess.
To make a complete mess, to ruin or wreck something physically. Stronger and more emphatic than 散らかす.
子供が部屋をめちゃくちゃにした。
The kids made a mess of the room.
To smash, wreck, or ruin something deliberately or forcefully. Stronger and more colloquial than 台無しにする.
彼は私の努力をぶち壊した。
He made a mess of my efforts.
To fail, mess up, or botch something. Casual and often used for personal mistakes.
試験をしくじった。
I made a mess of the exam.
To fail in doing something, to botch. Emphasizes the action going wrong.
スピーチをやり損なった。
I made a mess of the speech.