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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "unreliable" in Japanese?
信頼できない
shinrai dekinai
In Japanese, "unreliable" is 信頼できない (shinrai dekinai).
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Pronunciation
Shin-rai-de-ki-nai, five syllables, identical to reliable above but ending in 'nai' instead of 'ru', flipping it negative.
Writing and usage
信頼できない is written using kanji. It's a adjective, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
古い車は信頼性が低い。
furui kuruma ha shinraisei ga hikui.
The old car is unreliable.
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How to remember 信頼できない
Shinraidekinai is just shinraidekiru (reliable) with 'nai' swapped in at the end, turning trust into its opposite.
Related words
- ancient 古代 kodai
- modern モダンな modan na
- traditional 伝統的な dentouteki na
- modernized 近代化された kindaika sareta
- stingy ケチ kechi
- humble 謙虚 kenkyo
- arrogant 傲慢だ gouman da
- flexible 柔軟な juunanna
- rigid 硬い katai
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 信頼できない
How do you pronounce 信頼できない?
Shin-rai-de-ki-nai, five syllables, identical to reliable above but ending in 'nai' instead of 'ru', flipping it negative.
Is 信頼できない formal or casual?
信頼できない is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 信頼できない written in Japanese?
信頼できない is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as shinrai dekinai.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Unreliable" in other languages
Curated by Jack Ratcliffe
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