How to say 'Inferior' in Japanese | 劣る

Wondering how to say 'Inferior' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Inferior is 'Otoru', written as 劣る in Japanese.'Inferior' in hiragana is おとる.

word

劣る

Meaning

Inferior

Reading

おとる

otoru

Kanji

劣Inferior, Inferiority

Explanation

The Japanese verb '劣る (おとる)' means 'to be inferior' or 'to be worse than'. It is used to compare two things, where one is of lesser quality, ability, or value compared to the other. This verb often carries a nuance of being lacking or not measuring up to a standard. For example: His skills are inferior to hers「彼のスキルは彼女に劣る」(かれのスキルはかのじょにおとる). This product is inferior to the previous model「この製品は前のモデルに劣る」(このせいひんはまえのモデルにおとる). Note that '劣る' is typically used in formal or written contexts and is less common in casual conversation.

Part Of Speech

verb

Kanji JLPT

Kanji Grade

Frequency

5712

Composition

kanji-hiragana

Handwriting

This word is an ichidan verb. To learn how it transforms in different tenses and forms, explore all its conjugations.

Kanji in the Word 劣る

This word contains 1 kanji character:

kanji

劣

Meaning

Inferior, Inferiority

Hiragana in the Word 劣る

This word contains 1 Hiragana character :

hiragana

る

Reading

Learn the Word 劣る

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What does 'Otoru' (劣る) mean?

'Otoru' means 'Inferior' .

To help you master this word, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.