音痴 (onchi) Meaning “Bad at Singing” in Japanese

Pronunciation

Definition

音痴 (おんち, onchi) describes a person who is extremely bad at singing. When onchi people go to karaoke with their friends, they either try to blend into the background or sing onchi-friendly songs (e.g. songs of Japanese idol groups).

Onchi as a Suffix

Onchi is also used as a suffix that means “poor at something”. Here are four common phrases that include onchi as a suffix:

運動うんどう音痴 (Undou Onchi: “Exercise Onchi”): be poor at sports; uncoordinated

機械きかい音痴 (Kikai Onchi: “Machine Onchi”): be poor at handling machines/technology

方向ほうこう音痴 (Houkou Onchi: “Direction Onchi”): have a poor sense of direction

味あじ音痴 (Aji Onchi: “Taste Onchi”): have a poor sense of taste

These phrases are often used when people say they are poor at something (e.g. “運動音痴だから足あしが遅おそい” meaning “Because I’m an exercise onchi (poor at sports/exercise), I run very slow.”)

Word Structure

音痴 consists of the two kanji characters “音おん” (on) and “痴ち” (chi). The former means “sound”, and the latter means “irrational”. Onchi is sometimes written in katakana as “オンチ”, especially when it is used as a suffix.

Example Sentences

Ex1
俺おれ、音痴だからSMAP の曲きょくしか歌うたえないわ
Because I’m bad at singing, I can only sing the songs of SMAP
(Note) SMAP had been one of the most popular male idol groups in Japan until it broke up in 2016. Some of their songs are very popular among 音痴 because they are very famous and easy to sing.

Ex2
うちの母ははは機械きかい音痴だからスマートフォンの使つかい方かたがわからない
Because my mother is poor at using machine and technology, she cannot understand how to use a smartphone.

Ex3

方向音痴だから、Google Mapを使つかっても簡単かんたんに迷まよう。

Because I have a bad sense of direction, I easily get lost even if I use Google Map.

Ex4

味音痴だから牛肉ぎゅうにくと豚肉ぶたの味あじの違ちがいがよくわからない。

Because I have a poor sense of taste, I don’t understand the differences of taste on beef and pork.

Synonyms: 下手へた (be poor at)
Synonyms in English: tone-deaf, bad singer
Related words and phrases: 運動音痴, 機械音痴, 方向音痴, 味音痴