あいまい

(2 entries)
あいまい
Alternative writings: あい昧
JLPT:N2
Frequency:

1Something is vague or unclear - its meaning, attitude, or expression is not clearly defined.

Na-AdjectiveNoun

Examples

彼の返事は曖昧で、賛成なのか反対なのか分からない。

His reply was vague; I can't tell if he agrees or disagrees.

契約書に曖昧な表現があると、後でトラブルになりやすい。

Vague wording in a contract tends to cause trouble later.

質問には曖昧にせず、はっきり答えてください。

Please answer the question clearly instead of being vague.

記憶が曖昧で、あの日何があったのかよく思い出せない。

My memory is hazy, and I can't quite recall what happened that day.

2Shady or disreputable - having something suspicious or improper about one's conduct; can also describe a disreputable establishment (cf. 曖昧宿).

Na-AdjectiveNoun

Examples

あの店は曖昧な商売をしているという噂だ。

There are rumors that shop is running a shady business.

彼の曖昧な素性が周囲の不信感を招いた。

His shady background aroused suspicion among those around him.

3"Fuzzy" in mathematics/computer science - treating truth values as a continuous range rather than strict true/false.

Na-AdjectiveNounMathematicsComputing

Examples

あいまい検索を使えば、多少入力を間違えても正しい結果が出やすい。

Using fuzzy search makes it easier to get correct results even with minor input errors.

Word Relationships

Antonym
Derivations