しょぼい

しょぼい
i-adjective
shabby; pathetic; lame
informalcolloquialappearance
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Presentしょぼいしょぼくない
Pastしょぼかったしょぼくなかった
て formしょぼくてしょぼくなくて
Adverbialしょぼく—
Conditional ばしょぼければしょぼくなければ
Conditional たらしょぼかったらしょぼくなかったら
1. shabby; rundown; poor quality
Describing something that looks worn out, cheap, or of low quality.
しょぼい店(みせ)だな。
What a shabby store.
部屋(へや)がしょぼい。
The room is rundown.
しょぼいプレゼントをもらった。
I got a cheap-looking present.
2. pathetic; lame; unimpressive
Describing something disappointing or someone who seems weak or pitiful.
しょぼい結果(けっか)だった。
The results were pathetic.
しょぼい言(い)い訳(わけ)だ。
That's a lame excuse.
期待(きたい)していたけどしょぼかった。
I had high expectations but it was disappointing.

しょぼい may come from しょぼしょぼ, an onomatopoeia describing something weak, dim, or bleary (like tired eyes).

Register

This is casual/colloquial language. Use 貧弱(ひんじゃく)な, みすぼらしい, or 情(なさ)けない in more formal contexts.

As an i-adjective: しょぼくない (negative), しょぼかった (past), しょぼく (adverb form).

Common patterns

Related Words

Compare: へぼい (lousy, crappy, incompetent)
general
Added 2026.2.1 16:08 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
09000/09302_shoboi