生なま半はん可か

な

ま

は

ん

か

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

na-adjective, noun

superficial; half-hearted; shallow

Describes knowledge, effort, or attitude that is not thorough or serious; often used in negative contexts to criticize lack of depth or commitment.

彼かれの知ち識しきは生なま半はん可かだ。
His knowledge is superficial.
生なま半はん可

か

な

気き

持も

ち

で

始はじ

める

と

失しっ

敗ぱい

する

。

If you start with a half-hearted attitude, you'll fail.

Written forms

生なま半はん可かUsage93%
Standard kanji spelling.
なまはんかUsage7%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing.

Kanji

生life, genuine, birth
半half, middle, odd number
可can, passable, approval

Similar words

中ちゅう途と半はん端ぱ
中途半端 also means 'halfway' or 'incomplete,' but it often focuses on something being unfinished or not fully done, while 生半可 emphasizes a lack of depth or seriousness in quality or attitude.
浅あさい
浅い means 'shallow' in a physical or abstract sense, but 生半可 is more about insufficient effort or superficiality in human endeavors.

Etymology

Compound of 生 (なま, 'raw, half-baked') and 半可 (はんか, 'half, incomplete'). The exact derivation of 半可 is uncertain, but it may be related to 半端 (はんぱ, 'fragment, oddment').