もったいない (mottainai) means “what a waste” or “too good for me.” It expresses regret when useful or valuable things are wasted, and humility when praise seems more than one deserves. It can concern food, time, talent, or a compliment; the value need not be monetary.
もったいない · also mottainai / 勿体ない / もったいぶる
wasteful — too good to be thrown away · a shame to let go · more than I deserve
Sentences
5 sentences, word by word
〜のはもったいない · a thing with use left in it
plain
。
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まだ
まだ
still
adverb · the state has not ended yet, which is the whole complaint
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着られる
きられる
can be worn
potential of 着る · the clothes retain the ability to be worn
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服
ふく ［2］
clothes
noun · general clothing, worn on the body
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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捨てる
すてる ［0］
to throw away
ichidan verb · discarding it, which is what wastes the remaining use
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の
の
the act of — nominaliser
particle · turns 捨てる into a noun so は can mark it
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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もったいない
もったいない ［5］
a waste
い-adjective · value is left in the clothes and is about to go unused
もったいないN2wasteful · a shame
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Throwing out clothes you can still wear is a waste.
もったいないから · as a reason
polite
、。
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時間
じかん ［0］
time
noun · time as a quantity you can spend or lose
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が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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もったいない
もったいない ［5］
too precious to waste
い-adjective · the time still has use in it, and is about to be spent badly
もったいないN2too precious to waste
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から
から
from; since
particle · a starting point, or a reason
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タクシー
タクシー ［1］
taxi
noun · loanword, and the faster option being argued for
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で
で
by — the means
particle · the means of travel, not the place it happens
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行きましょう
いきましょう
let's go
volitional polite of 行く · proposing it to the other person
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Time is too precious to waste, so let's take a taxi.
もったいない ＋ noun · turning down praise
polite
、。
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もったいない
もったいない ［5］
more than I deserve
い-adjective attributive · the praise is worth more than its recipient
もったいないN2more than I deserve
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お言葉
おことば ［0］
your words
honorific noun · the お belongs to the speaker's words, not to yours
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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いただき
いただき ［0］
receiving
humble stem of いただく · you receive the words, lowering yourself
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ありがとう
ありがとう
thank you
expression · from 有り難い, 'hard to exist', so rare as to be precious
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ございます
ございます
(polite)
polite copula · lifting ありがとう into formal register
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Thank you — that's far too kind of you.
もったいない · the everyday scold
plain
。
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電気
でんき ［1］
the lights; electricity
noun · both the power and the lamp — here the lamp
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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つけっぱなし
つけっぱなし
left switched on
noun from つける ＋ っぱなし · left in a state nobody ended
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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する
する
to do; to make it so
irregular verb · putting the lights into that state
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の
の
the act of — nominaliser
particle · makes the whole action a noun for は to mark
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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もったいない
もったいない ［5］
a waste
い-adjective · the electricity has use left and nobody is using it
もったいないN2wasteful
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Leaving the lights on is such a waste.
もったいない · a wasted chance
plain
。
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こんな
こんな ［0］
this kind of
demonstrative · pointing at the chance in front of you
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いい
いい
good
い-adjective · irregular, so the plain form is いい but the past is よかった
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機会
きかい ［2］
chance; opportunity
noun · an opening in time, not a machine — that is 機械
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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逃す
のがす ［2］
to let slip
godan verb · failing to take it, with the chance as the object
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の
の
the act of — nominaliser
particle · turns 逃す into the thing being judged
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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もったいない
もったいない ［5］
a shame
い-adjective · the chance still holds value that will go unused
もったいないN2a shame · wasteful
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It'd be a shame to let a chance this good slip by.
Forms
How もったいない gets used
Thing ＋ は＋もったいない
捨てるのはもったいない. The everyday shape — a verdict on an action or a thing.
もったいない＋から / ので
時間がもったいないから. Used as the reason for doing something differently, which is where it appears most in speech.
もったいない＋こと / 話
もったいないことをした. A wasteful thing to have done — the standard way to admit the waste was yours.
もったいない＋です
Answering praise or a generous offer. You are saying it is worth more than you are — a deflection, not a refusal.
Meaning
もったいない vs 無駄 vs 惜しい
It measures unused worth, not lost money. The thing still has value in it; that value is what is about to be wasted. A meal you could not finish is もったいない whether it cost ¥300 or ¥3,000, because what is being thrown out is food, not the price.
無駄 is the cold word.無駄 is a judgement of pointlessness — effort that produced nothing, a trip that achieved nothing. もったいない carries regret; 無駄 carries none. A wasted afternoon can be either, and the choice tells you how the speaker feels about it.
惜しい is the near miss.惜しい is for something that almost worked — one point short, one train missed. もったいない is for value going unused. An answer that was nearly right is usually 惜しい; もったいない can fit when valuable effort was wasted.
The humble use is the same measurement, aimed at yourself. Praise or a gift has a value; you place your own worth below it. That is why もったいないお言葉です is modest rather than ungrateful — the gap is between the compliment and you, not between you and the speaker.
Watch out
Where もったいない goes wrong
Using it for a near miss
An answer that was one letter off is 惜しい, not もったいない. The word needs unused value, not a narrow failure.
Marking the wasted thing with を
It is an adjective, so the thing takes が: 時間がもったいない, never 時間をもったいない. Only the verb 無駄にする takes an object.
Hearing the humble use as a refusal
もったいないです answering a compliment is not a no. Said of an offered gift it can be, so the safe reply there is ありがとうございます、いただきます.
Confusing it with もったいぶる
もったいぶる means to put on airs or to withhold something for effect. Same root, and no overlap in use at all.
Also asked
Questions people ask about もったいない
Is もったいない really untranslatable?
It is translatable — “wasteful”, “a shame” — but no single English word carries the regret with it. English splits the feeling across several words; Japanese keeps it in one, which is why it gets described as untranslatable.
Why does it also mean “I don't deserve this”?
The measurement is the same: something has more value than the use it is about to get. Point that at a compliment and the thing with excess value is the praise, and the insufficient use is you.
もったいない or 無駄 — which should I use?
もったいない if you regret it, 無駄 if you are calling it pointless. 無駄な会議 is a criticism of the meeting; もったいない時間 mourns the time.
Why is the pitch accent 5 when the word is written in kana?
An accent belongs to the word, not to the spelling. The Kanjium table files it under 勿体ない, the kanji form, and it is the same word — so the kana spelling carries the same 5.
