音痴 – What is Onchi, and What type of Onchi are you?
Not everyone can do everything. Some people are really good at things while others have no clue. You may have a good sense of how to cook, sing, dance or whatever while others have none. Everyone is poor at something. Today we have a special Japanese word, onchi, which is a must know. So, What type of Onchi are you?
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Meaning and usage 音痴
Just by itself, Onchi (音痴) translations to Tone-deaf, or if you want to be fancy, Amusia. However, when used as a suffix it loses it’s music reference to explain some sort of lack of inability for the proceeding word. To explain here are some common examples below.
方向音痴 Onchi which are Bad with Directions
Probably the most comment type of Onchi is the 方向音痴. 方向 means direction so 方向音痴 translates directly as “tone-deaf for directions” or more loosely someone with a bad sense of direction. For anyone that always seems to get lost, or bad with reading maps or signs when traveling we would call a 方向音痴.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/味音痴 Can’t distinguish good food from bad
Another popular Onchi is the 味音痴. 味 means taste so naturally this type of Onchi is the kind that can’t seem to identify or distinguishing tastes, mixing ingredients and recognizing when the dish is good or bad.
The wonderful world of 音痴
The word Onchi can actually be used with just about any topic you can think of. Someone that is not athletic, has bad reflexes, or hand-eye coordination would be an 運動音痴 . Or someone that can’t seem to figure out machines or other mechanical instruments would be a 機械音痴. If you are interested in learning more Japanese Vocabulary like Onchi, check out some of my other posts. Thanks!
If you are interested in learning even more, I have reviewed what I consider the best resource for Japanese Grammar below:
