poor; low-grade; trivial; worthless
Prefix used to belittle or dismiss something as inferior, trivial, or worthless. Common in compounds like 駄文 (poor writing) and 駄作 (poor work).
See also: 駄文
彼の書いたものは駄文ばかりだ。
Everything he writes is just poor writing.
この映画は駄作だと言われている。
This movie is said to be a poor work.
noun, used as a suffix, counter
Suffix and counter for loads carried by a packhorse. Historically used in contexts like 一駄 (one horse-load). Rare in modern Japanese outside historical or specialized contexts.
See also: 一駄
packhorse
Noun meaning a packhorse. Rare standalone use; more commonly encountered in historical or literary descriptions.
駄に荷物を積んで山道を進んだ。
They loaded the packhorse with goods and proceeded along the mountain path.
In the Edo period, horses were used to carry one horse-load of rice.
駄目 means 'no good' or 'useless' as an adjective/noun, while 駄 is a prefix meaning 'poor' or 'low-grade'.
駄作 is a compound using the prefix 駄, meaning 'poor work' or 'inferior creation'.
no good; useless; broken · hopeless; wasted; in vain · cannot; must not; not allowed · neutral point (go) · no!; stop!
futility; waste; uselessness; pointlessness; idleness
waste; squandering; frittering away
cheap sweets; penny candy; dagashi
bad pun; corny joke; feeble joke
poor work; rubbish; trash
whining; tantrum
poor writing; bad prose · my poor writing
reward; recompense; tip · conveyance charge; packhorse charge
Standard kanji form for all senses.
The kanji 駄 originally referred to a packhorse or load, and by extension came to mean something of low quality or trivial. The prefix sense likely developed from the idea of something being 'just a load' or 'mere baggage'.
foolish talk; nonsense; idle chatter
mongrel; cur; mutt
Pacific needlefish
packhorse; workhorse; hack
horse load; one pack-horse load
pack; horseload
high wooden clogs; rain clogs
poor poem; bad haiku
worthless book; trashy book
trash; low-grade stuff; junk
pack animal
horse's load; packhorse load
small reward; tip; little something
idle talk; chatter; nonsense