「Ii imi de」: The Master Trick to Turn a 'Strange' Observation into a 'Cool' Compliment

Have you ever been in a 'frozen' situation when a Japanese friend makes a comment about you that sounds... a little off? 🤔

For example, they say:

「〇〇さんって、本当にマイペースだよね」 (You're a real 'my-pace' person, aren't you?)

Wait a minute, is 'my-pace' (doing things at your own pace) praising my independence and not being influenced, or is it criticizing me for being selfish and not caring about others?

This is where the 'savior' of ambiguous comments appears: ✨ 「いい意味で」(ii imi de) ✨

If they say it in full:

「〇〇さんって、いい意味でマイペースだよね」

Then it's 100% a compliment! 🎉

What is「Ii imi de」?

It literally means 'in a good sense' or 'I mean this in a good way'.

This is a 'hedging' magic spell, a cushion to ensure the listener will understand in a positive way a word that could have both good and bad meanings.

The Japanese use it very often to:

1. Clarify the compliment: Turn a characteristic that could be considered negative into a unique, praiseworthy trait.
2. Show subtlety (気遣い - kizukai): Show that they have thought carefully so that their words do not hurt others.

Look at the examples and you'll get it!

Let's see how「いい意味で」transforms ambiguous words:

1. With「適当」(tekitou)

• Negative meaning 😠: Careless, haphazard, irresponsible.
• Positive meaning 😊: Flexible, adaptable, not bound by rules.

彼の仕事は、いい意味で適当だから、急な変更にも対応できてすごい。 (His work is 'tekitou' in a good sense, so he can handle sudden changes, which is amazing.) ➞ Here, 'tekitou' is clearly praising his flexibility.

2. With「普通じゃない」(futsuu ja nai)

• Negative meaning 😠: Abnormal, weird, not normal.
• Positive meaning 😊: Unique, one-of-a-kind, different.

彼女の発想は、いい意味で普通じゃないから、いつも驚かされる。 (Her ideas are 'not normal' in a good way, so I'm always surprised.) ➞ Praising her uniqueness, creativity and not criticizing her for being 'weird'.

3. With「しつこい」(shitsukoi)

• Negative meaning 😠: Nagging, persistent like a leech, annoying.
• Positive meaning 😊: Persistent, tenacious, doesn't give up.

彼はいい意味でしつこいから、絶対このプロジェクトを成功させると思う。 (He is 'persistent' in a good way, so I think he will definitely make this project a success.) ➞ Praising his persistence and not criticizing him for being annoying.

Conclusion

「いい意味で」is an extremely useful communication master trick that helps you make deep, unique comments without fear of being misunderstood. It shows that you not only understand vocabulary, but also the communication culture that always cares about the feelings of the other person.

Next time you want to praise someone for having a 'strange' personality, don't forget to add the 'subtitle'「いい意味で」! 😉