Umai and....

うまい　umai is a multi-meaning word, which generally means 'good'.

For instance, it can be used to say someone is good at doing something.

洋子はピアノがうまい　ようこはピアノがうまい　yoko wa piano ga umai - Yoko is good at (playing) the piano

It can also mean something tastes good or is delicious.

このラーメン、うまい！　kono ramen, umai! - This ramen is delicous!

A third usage is to say a procedure is (or should) go well.

ビルは今日真由美と初デートだ。うまくいくといいな。　ビルはきょうまゆみとはつデートだ。うまくいくといいな。 - Today, Bill has a first date with Mayumi. (I) hope it goes well.

However, there is one caveat for using umai. Except for the third usage, umai is considered to be a very informal and not-too-polite word. It should only be used by males in informal situations. If females use it, they are considered to be a bit rude or mannish. So, if you want to stay polite, you have to use different words:

For the first usage, 'is good at something', use 上手　じょうず　jouzu

Example: 洋子はピアノが上手　yoko wa piano ga jouzu

For the 'tastes good, delicious' usage, use 美味しい　おいしい　oishii

Example: このラーメン、美味しい！　kono ramen, oishii!

(An even more informal way to say うまい　is うめえ　umeh. I had fun for a few years telling The (Swiss) Guy that the word for delcious was うめえ, and watching my Japanese relatives doing a small double-take when he said it. I did get found out eventually...)

Opposite meaning words

The opposite meaning word for うまい　differs by the meaning.

うまい　(as in good at something) -- 下手　へた　heta

うまい　(as in delicious) -- まずい　mazui

As for the third meaning, while まずくいく　is not used as a phrase meaning 'go bad', まずい　is used to mean 'a bad situation', or simply 'uh oh' or 'oh no'.

Example: まずい、財布を忘れてしまった。　まずい、さいふをわすれてしまった。mazui, saifu o wasurete shimatta. - Uh oh, I forgot my purse.

Comments

[Japanese words]

Great post and great website. Umai is one of those "universal" words that seems usable in many situations like you mentioned above. You can even use it backwards "maiyu...if you aren't worried about sounding a little like a dork.

[A site visitor]

Hi Makiko :) Is umai pronounced as "ooo-my" or "you-my"? Thanks a lot!

[maki]

U in roma-ji (Japanese phonetically spelled with Latin characters) is always pronounced 'ooo' (or um, 'uh')

[Al]

Hi Makiko, I told my wife: MAZUI OKUSAN. I meant sour face. She got mad and told me its more then that.
Could you explain a bit more on this MAZUI OKUSAN. Thanks, Al.