粗悪

• Reading: そあく
• Romaji: soaku
• Kanji breakdown: 粗 (so) — coarse, rough; 悪 (aku) — bad, evil, inferior
• Pronunciation: /so.a.kɯ/

Meaning

Coarse; crude; inferior. Describes poor quality, especially of products or materials.

A na-adjective and no-adjective meaning poorly made or of low quality. Typically used for products, materials, or goods: 粗悪品 (inferior goods), 粗悪な材料 (poor-quality materials). Carries a strongly negative judgement about quality and craftsmanship. More formal than ひどい (terrible) and specifically targets material or production quality rather than general badness.

Examples

1. 粗悪品を高値で売るのは詐欺に近い。 Selling inferior goods at high prices is close to fraud.
2. 粗悪な材料で作られた家具はすぐ壊れる。 Furniture made from poor-quality materials breaks easily.
3. ネットで買った服が粗悪で返品した。 The clothes I bought online were of poor quality, so I returned them.

Usage Guide

Context: consumer goods, manufacturing, complaints

Tone: critical

Origin & History

From Sino-Japanese: 粗 (so, coarse/rough) + 悪 (aku, bad/evil). The combination of 'rough' and 'bad' directly conveys poor quality.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal