手を抜く
てをぬく
to cut corners
By Nihongo PathUpdated
Examples
仕事で手を抜くな。
しごとでてをぬくな。
Don't cut corners at work.
掃除で手を抜いたのがすぐにばれた。
そうじでてをぬいたのがすぐにばれた。
It was obvious right away that I'd skimped on the cleaning.
彼は練習で決して手を抜かない選手だ。
かれはれんしゅうでけっしててをぬかないせんしゅだ。
He is a player who never slacks off in practice.
Common patterns
- 仕事で手を抜く
- to cut corners at work
- 手を抜かずに作る
- to make something without cutting corners
- 手抜き工事
- shoddy construction
Memory tip
手を抜く means doing the job but skipping the effort it deserves, while さぼる means not doing it at all. The noun form 手抜き shows up in 手抜き工事 and 手抜き料理.
Kanji in this word
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What does 手を抜く mean?