not properly
not well
barely・hardly
Structure
- ろくに + verb[ない・ず]
Other forms - 碌に
[Often used with a verb in potential form・It is a good practice to put it as close as possible to the verb in negative form]
Perhaps not important if usually kana only, but which is the primary kanji stem for ろく? Not that I trust Jisho entirely, but I recognize 陸 for ‘land’ but 碌 is listed like the grammar point satisfactory; decent; good; proper; worthy (but can also mean ‘land’). Maybe I’m wrong, just checking…
碌
陸
1 Like
Jisho also says that 碌 is ateji.
Yeah, I saw that but I don’t see why, the meaning is pretty solid ( 陸に should be ateji, not 碌に)
I now see there are a couple sources that have it otherwise too. Adverbial definition list both but 碌に as primary. Again, not a big deal if kana only, just curious.
https://jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-grammar/ろくに～ない-roku-ni-nai-meaning/
My other dictionaries all agree on which one is ateji.
I couldn’t find anything definitive online, only some theories about the satisfactory/proper/normal meaning coming from a comparison of flat land vs. uneven land. I’m not sure about those but my 古語 dictionary does list that meaning for 陸 (it doesn’t have an entry for 碌).
1 Like
What is the difference between ろくに and ちゃんと?