ろくに～ない

ろくに～ない is an adverbial expression meaning "not properly," "not sufficiently," or "hardly." It emphasizes that something is not done adequately or to a satisfactory degree. The adverb ろくに always pairs with a negative verb form – you will never see ろくに used with an affirmative predicate.

This expression often carries a tone of complaint, frustration, or criticism – either about oneself or about someone else's lack of effort or care.

Common patterns

ろくに is frequently followed by verbs like たべる食べる, ねる寝る, はなす話す, べんきょう勉強する, かんがえる考える, etc. – everyday actions that one would normally expect to be done properly.

It can also be used with 〜～ないで or 〜～ずに to describe doing something else without having properly done the first action:

Nuance

Compared to simply saying あまり〜～ない (not much), ろくに～ない is stronger and more critical. It implies that the level is unacceptably low – not just insufficient but disappointingly so. Because of this critical nuance, be mindful of the context when using it about others, as it can sound judgmental.

Related expressions

• まともに〜～ない – similar meaning ("not decently/properly"), but ろくに tends to be more emphatic and common as a set pattern with negative forms.
• ほとんどから～ない – "hardly/almost not" – focuses more on quantity, while ろくに focuses on the quality or adequacy of the action.