1.
poor at, weak in, not good at
Lacking skill or ability in something; finding something difficult.
数学が苦手です。
I'm not good at math.
〜が苦手 = poor at ~
朝起きるのが苦手だ。
I'm bad at waking up early.
苦手な食べ物はありますか。
Is there any food you don't like?
2.
dislike, hard to deal with
Finding a person or thing difficult to handle or uncomfortable to be around.
彼は苦手なタイプの人だ。
He's the type of person I find difficult to deal with.
虫が苦手で、見るだけで怖い。
I can't handle bugs — just seeing them scares me.
苦手な上司がいると、毎日の仕事がつらくなる。
When you have a boss you don't get along with, everyday work becomes tough.
USAGE: 苦手 is the opposite of 得意. It's used to express weakness in skills or discomfort with people/situations.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 〜が苦手だ (to be poor at ~)
- 苦手な科目 (weak subject)
- 苦手な人 (person one finds hard to deal with)
- 苦手を克服する (to overcome a weakness)
- 苦手意識 (feeling of inadequacy)
NUANCE: 苦手 is a softer way to say you're bad at something compared to 下手 (unskillful). It suggests personal difficulty rather than objective lack of skill.
ANTONYM:
- 得意 (good at, specialty)