:maggie-small: 「今日の夕食、ハンパないわ！」
(=Kyou no yuushoku hanpa nai wa!)
“Today’s dinner is out of this world!”
Today I will introduce you a very casual slang, ハンパない / 半端ない ( = hanpa nai).
We use it when something is awesome, super, extraordinary, enormous, outrageous, kick ass, beyond our imagination, something extreme, great deal or a lot in quantity.
In some cases you can exchange ハンパない/ 半端ない ( = hanpa nai) with やばい ( = yabai),
go check our previous lesson on Yabai.
”ハンパ” has kanji →半端 but as many other slang words we often use katakana instead.
First let’s take a look at the meaning of 半端 ( = hanpa).
半端 ( = hanpa) itself is not a slang. It means halfway/unfinished/odd/half-done/leftover
漢字( = Kanji)
:u:
半 ( = han) half
•半分 ( = hanbun) half
•半分に分ける
( = hanbun ni wakeru.)
go halvies, to split into 2 parts
端 ( = hashi/ tan/ha (pa) edge, end, tip
•先端 ( = sentan) apex, peak, tip
•端に ( = hashini) on edge
Ex. 道路の端に一台の自転車が放置されている。
= Douro no hashi ni ichidai no jitensha ga houchi sareteiru.
= Somebody left a bicycle on the side of the road.
:u: 半端 ( = hanpa)
Ex. 半端もの ( = hanpa mono) odds and ends
Ex. 半端が出たのであげます。
= Hanpa ga deta no de agemasu.
= I will give you the leftovers. / We got an extra one so I’ll give it to you.
If you put a word 中途 ( = chuuto) in front of 半端 ( = hanpa), it adds or stresses the meaning of halfway, midway:
(cf : 中途 ( = chuuto)：中途採用 ( = chuuto saiyou) mid-career employment）
•中途半端 ( = chuuto hanpa) halfway, tepid, unfinished, by halves, half-hearted
Ex. 作業を中途半端にやめる
= Sagyou wo chuuto hanpa ni yameru.
= to leave the work unfinished
Ex. 中途半端なやり方をしないで下さい。
= Chuutohanpa na yarikata wo shinaide kudasai.
= Don’t do things in a half-baked way.
Ex. 中途半端な人は雇いたくない。
= Chuutohanpa na hito wa yatoitakunai.
= I don’t want to hire anybody who is irresponsible/leaves things unfinished/not good enough for this post career-wise or ability-wise.
Ex. 中途半端な気持でこの仕事は引き受けません。
= Chuutohanpa na kimochi dewa kono shigoto wa hikiukemasen.
= If I were half-hearted about this, I wouldn’t take this job. (If I weren’t 100% committed, I wouldn’t take this job.)
For those who like to learn slang!!
:qq: ハンパ（半端）ない ( = hanpa nai）
Now, let’s see the slang for today! ハンパない ( = hanpa nai)!
It originally came from 半端ではない ( = hanpa dewa nai) or more casual 半端じゃない ( = hanpa jyanai)
It is “NOT 半端 ( = hanpa) unfinished” , so it means awesome, extremely good, mighty, really something, outrageous, enormous, a lot and etc. (*see the above definitions.)
It could be positive or negative.
From the picture above：
:maggie-small: 「今日の夕食、ハンパないわ！」
= Kyou no yuushoku hanpa naiwa!
= “Today’s dinner is out of this world!”
(Note: ~わ ( ~ wa) suffix is for women.
If you are a man, you would say, ハンパないな（なあ）( = hanpa nai na(or naa)) or パネェな！( = Paneena) in this case.)
Ex. 彼の音楽はハンパない！
= Kare no ongaku wa hanpa nai!
= His music is outrageous.
(In this case “outrageous” in a good way, of course.)
Ex. 彼女の才能はハンパない！
= Kanojyo no sainou wa hanpa nai!
= Her talent is really something.
Ex. 今日の寒さ、ハンパないね。
= Kyou no samusa hanpa nai ne.
= 今日は、ハンパなく寒いね。
= Kyou wa hanpa naku samui ne.
= It’s incredibly cold today, isn’t it?
Ex. あそこのラーメンってハンパない味だよ。
= Asoko no raamen tte hanpa nai aji dayo.
= The ramen in that place is extremely delicious!
You can also say
ハンパなく美味しい。
= hanpa naku oishii.
= extremely delicious.
Ex. 彼がバレンタインにもらうチョコの数はハンパない。
= Kare ga barentain ni morau choko no kazu wa hanpa nai.
=The number of chocolates he gets on St. Valentine’s day is incredible.
or
~ハンパなく多い ( = ~hanpa naku ooi.) a lot
Ex. 今月の電話代、ハンパない。
= Kongetsu no denwa dai hanpa nai
= This month’s telephone fee is outrageous.
or ~ハンパなく高い。(= ~hanpa naku takai.) = very expensive
Ex. このカレー、ハンパない辛さだ。
= Kono karee hanpa nai karasa da.
= This curry is super spicy.
or
~ハンパなく辛い。( =~hanpa naku karai.) super spicy
Ex. 数学の試験がハンパない難しさだった。
= Suugaku no shiken ga hapa nai muzukashisa datta.
= The math exam was super difficult.
or
ハンパなく難しかった。( =hanpanaku muzukashikatta) it was super difficult.
Ex. 彼の筋肉ってハンパないよね。
= Kare no kinniku tte hanpa nai you ne.
=His muscles are incredible!
Ex. 彼女のピアノはハンパなく上手い。
= Kanojo no piano wa hanpa nakuumai.
= She plays the piano amazingly well.
Ex. あいつってハンパないな。
= Aitsu tte hanpa nai na.
= He is really something. (It could be good or bad.)
Note : The variation is ハンパねぇ ( = hanpa nee) which is more vulgar or casual and is mainly used by men.
Also the abbreviation form is パねぇ(or パネェ).
(It is even more vulgar or casual like やばい ( = yabai.))
Ex. マジパネェ！ (slang/rough)
= Maji panee
= Great! / Awesome! / Super!
Ex. パネェくらいマギー先生のブログが好き！ (A)
= Panee kurai Maggie sensei no burogu ga suki!)
or
ハンパなくマギー先生のブログが好き！ (B)
= Hanpa naku Maggie sensei no burogu ga suki!)
= I just LOOOOOVE Maggie sensei’s blog!
(A) sounds more vulgar than (B) So be careful when you use (A)!!
(Repeat this sentence 1,000 times as your homework!)
マギー先生より = Maggie-sensei yori = From Maggie-sensei
ここに来る皆の日本語もきっとハンパなく上手だと思うよ！
=Kokoni kuru mina no nihongo mo kitto hanpa naku jouzu dato omou yo!
= I bet everybody who comes to this site speaks extremely good Japanese, too!
***
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I appreciate your support! サポートありがとう！
27 Comments
Thanks maggie sensei! Just one question
パネェくらいマギー先生のブログが好き！
What does くらい means in that context?
@Alberto
Hi Alberto,
You can express the degree how much the speaker loves my site. (^_−)−☆
I have a lesson on くらい ( click this link →How to use くらい）
Hi Maggie Sensei! Great website! Your articles about slang helps me a lot! ^^
I have a question about 中途半端. When someone says 中途半端な美人 or 中途半端に可愛い子 etc, what does he mean? H-half pretty?
Thanks.
@syp
Hi syp!
中途半端な美人 or 中途半端に可愛い子
Someone who is sort of pretty but not that beautiful.
Thank you very much, Sensei!
@syp
You’re welcome, Syp!
Thanks for this tip. I knew ‘ハンパ’, but couldn’t figure out what my buddy’s ‘ハンパねえよ’ meant. ^_^;
@Lironah
Thank you for visiting this site! Great! You have a friend who use this word around you. Now you know the meaning!
同感、パネェくらいマギー先生のブログが好き！この表現を始めて読んだところは「聖お兄さん」という漫画にだったんだ。日本人の友達に何の言葉の略語を教えって貰ったが、詳しい説明してくれてありがとう！
@Cygnus
ありがとう！！日本人の友達がいるとすぐにいろいろ聞けていいですね。
（A little correction :
＊この表現を始めて読んだところは→この表現を始めて読んだのは
＊漫画にだったんだ→漫画だったんだ
＊何の言葉の略語を教えって→何の言葉の略語か教えて貰った)
訂正してくれてありがとう！マギーほど素晴らしい犬はいないぞ。
“ハンパなくマギー先生のブログが好き” sou sou ^~^
so is 夕食 used more often than “bangohan”?
Sensei, you ever made a lesson on counters? just wondering cause they sometimes confuse me ^^
@Aki
Hehe Thank you, Aki! :)
晩ごはん is more conversational than 夕食. 夕食 sounds a bit more sophisticated. But they are both equally used.
Yes, I made a lesson on counters. Please check it!
数字 = suuji lesson.
ah sokka sokka
okie I will make sure I check it ^^
hehe(hope this won’t offend u cause I don’t mean to offend :) and maybe this is just me as a really young person that notices it^^ maybe some older American would never notice these things cause they grew up in different times) it’s so easy to tell you are Japanese cause you guys always say stuff like “please check it” please this and that :) we would just be like “go check it out!”/”here” no place for kudasai/please or anything(it might sound kinda commanding ne? but it’s not meant to be so^^ we just don’t take each other too seriously sometimes^^) ahhhh cultures can be so different, ne? :) and that’s why when I hear “please” it sounds SO refreshing to me ^__^ I don’t hear that too often, you know…
@Aki
Haha!! Very interesting!! ‘Cause I’m a well-trained dog!
Now PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEASE go check the lesson!
マギー先生からたくさんのことを学びましたよ！本当にありがとうございました！
@コエヨさん
こちらこそこのサイトに来てくれてありがとう！！！
Hi Maggie!
Thanks for your great article.
I have a question regarding 半端じゃないっすよ。
I have recently come across this sentence watching Gokusen.
THey are talking about Class 3D and that they are delinquents.
“でも あの３Ｄの連中は 半端じゃないっすよ。”
What is the meaning of 半端じゃないっすよ in this sentence, because it has negative connotations as opposed to positive ones, as your article states :)
Thanks.
@tarkonis
Sorry I just read your comment. (I was out of town.)
半端ない can be used both negatively and positively. So if you just hear just one line, you don’t know in which way they are extreme. It could be good or bad.
So you have to pay attention to the previous or following context.
So “でも あの３Ｄの連中は 半端じゃないっすよ。” can be “They are extremely wild” or “out of control”
It is fun to learn Japanese from TV dramas like “Gokusen” !
I love your website Maggie! Ai Shiteru! Saranghae yo!
@Deth_Kittens
Arigatou!!! Daaaaisuki♥
初めて聞いたのは、youtubeのビデオで、すぐgoogleで調べて、先生のブロッグに届いた。
面白い言葉でこれから、必ず使用と思う。先生はハンパねぇ！
@ルトフィ
旅行に行ってたので返事が遅れてごめんね。私、ハンパない？
(面白い言葉でこれから必ず使用と思う。→面白い言葉なのでこれから必ず使うと思う。）
また来てね！
先生の説明は わかりやすくて、すばらしい。先生はハンパないわ！:)
pekee chenさん
有り難う！！ほんと？私、ほめられると図にのっちゃうよ（笑）
マギー先生はパネエだ。
apple407さん
ありがとう！！私、ハンパないでしょ！
（Note ：「パネエだ」の「だ」はいりません。「パネえ！」or 「ハンパない！」）