悪筆(あくひつ)

あくひつ
noun
bad handwriting; poor penmanship
educationevaluation
1. bad handwriting; poor penmanship
Handwriting that is messy, illegible, or lacking in aesthetic quality.
彼(かれ)は悪筆(あくひつ)で有名(ゆうめい)だ。
He is famous for his bad handwriting.
悪筆(あくひつ)で読(よ)めない字(じ)が多(おお)い。
His handwriting is so bad that many characters are unreadable.
医者(いしゃ)の処方箋(しょほうせん)が悪筆(あくひつ)で、薬剤師(やくざいし)が読(よ)み取(と)るのに苦労(くろう)した。
The doctor's prescription was so poorly written that the pharmacist had trouble reading it.

A compound of 悪(あく) (bad) + 筆(ひつ) (brush/writing). In Japan, where calligraphy (書道(しょどう)) is part of school education, handwriting quality is taken more seriously than in many other cultures. Having 悪筆(あくひつ) can be seen as a minor social embarrassment.

Common collocations

  • 悪筆(あくひつ)で有名(ゆうめい): famous for bad handwriting
  • 悪筆(あくひつ)を直(なお)す: to fix one's bad handwriting
  • ひどい悪筆(あくひつ): terrible handwriting

Similar words

  • 達筆(たっぴつ): beautiful handwriting; fine penmanship — the opposite; a compliment for skilled calligraphy
  • 癖字(くせじ): idiosyncratic handwriting — not necessarily bad, just distinctive or hard for others to read
  • 乱筆(らんぴつ): messy writing — often used as a humble apology for one's own handwriting in letters

Related Words

Antonym: 達筆(たっぴつ) (beautiful handwriting)
Compare: 癖字(くせじ) (idiosyncratic handwriting)
Compare: 乱筆(らんぴつ) (messy writing)
Related: 手書(てが)き (handwriting)
Antonym: 美文字(びもじ) (beautiful handwriting)
general
Added 2026.5.6 23:22 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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