抜け目ない · i-adjective
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 抜け目ない | 抜け目なくない |
| Polite | 抜け目ないです | 抜け目なくないですalso 抜け目なくありません |
| Past polite | 抜け目なかったです | 抜け目なくなかったですalso 抜け目なくありませんでした |
| Past | 抜け目なかった | 抜け目なくなかった |
| Te-form | 抜け目なくて | 抜け目なくなくて |
| Adverbial | 抜け目なく | |
| Conditional | 抜け目なければ | 抜け目なくなければ |
| Tara conditional | 抜け目なかったら | 抜け目なくなかったら |
He is a shrewd merchant.
A sharp person doesn't miss that kind of chance.
抜け目ない describes someone who is sharp and misses no opportunity for gain, close to がっちり's sense of a shrewd, calculating person.
抜け目ない describes shrewdness that misses no opportunity and is often neutral or even admiring, unlike the negative judgment carried by ずる賢い.
抜け目ない describes someone shrewd who never misses an advantage, without the moral condemnation that 悪賢い carries.
抜け目ない describes someone sharp and shrewd who never misses a trick, the direct opposite of 間抜け, who misses the obvious.
Standard kanji spelling.
Alternate kanji spelling using 無い; less common but still seen.
From 抜け目 (a gap, oversight) + ない (not), literally 'without oversight'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the phrase has been used idiomatically since at least the Edo period.