ろくに~ない

Structure (Intermediate 355)

A structure that is used to indicate that something animate does not or cannot do something satisfactorily/sufficiently/properly.

Equivalent: Not sufficiently; not satisfactorily; not properly; not well; hardly

飛行機の中ではろくにられなかった
On the plane I couldn't sleep well.
ろくに勉強もしないで試験を受けたので、全然出来なかった。
I took the exam without studying properly, so it was a disaster (literally: I couldn't do well at all).
短いパリ滞在だったので、彼女とはろくにえなかった
It was such a short stay in Paris that I hardly met her.
彼はフランスのことなどろくにらないのに、よく知っているような口を利く。
He hardly knows about France, but he talks as if he knew a lot about it.
せっかくデパートまで買い物に出かけたのに、買い物中気分が悪くなってろくに買い物もせずに帰って来た。
I went shopping, and got as far as to a department store, but I came home without doing much shopping (literally: shopping properly) because I felt sick while shopping.
僕の犬はろくに芸もしない
My dog hardly does any tricks

Formation

ろくにVnegativeない
ろくに食べないSomeone doesn’t eat properly

Notes