適当（てきとう）の本当の意味
Hi, I’m Junpei(Junko). I’ve been teaching Japanese for 17 years in Hong Kong. Today, I’d like to write about the word 「適当 てきとう」, which is an idea that one of my students gave me. Do you know the definition of “適当”? One of my students told me that many Japanese learners believe that the meaning of 「適当」is suitable or appropriate. According to the dictionary, it means: Examples: But in fact, most Japanese people use this word differently. Example 1: A: ちょっとにんじんを切ってくれる？ (Would you cut the carrots?)B: どのくらいの大きさ？ (How big should I cut them?)A: 適当でいいよ。 (Any size is fine.) Example 2: A: この前お願いした書類できた？ (Have you finished the documents I asked you for […]