inarticulate; poor at speaking; clumsy with words
Describes someone who has difficulty expressing themselves verbally, often contrasted with 話し上手. Can be used as a noun or na-adjective.
彼は口下手だから、自分の気持ちをうまく伝えられない。
He is inarticulate, so he can't convey his feelings well.
口下手な人でも、練習すれば話せるようになる。
Even people who are poor at speaking can learn to talk with practice.
口下手 describes someone who is poor at speaking or expressing themselves, the opposite of being 口がうまい.
Standard kanji spelling.
Mixed kanji-kana spelling; less common but still seen.
Compound of 口 (mouth, speech) and 下手 (unskillful). The reading くちべた is a standard kun'yomi combination.