もったいない

Japanese

For pronunciation and definitions of もったいない – see the following entry.
【勿体無い】
[adjective] [from roughly 1221] not as expected and consequently regrettable, unreasonable, improper
[adjective] [from 1378] (in a positive sense) humbling, welcome but overwhelming, too much, too good for one
[adjective] [from late 1300s] (in a negative sense) wasteful, regrettable, such as something useful just sitting there, or the disposal of something still usable
[interjection] what a waste, what a shame
Alternative spelling
勿体ない
(This term, もったいない (mottainai), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
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