Note (2022-01-12 13:47)

Please be advised that the following was written or last updated a while ago and may therefore contain outdated information or opinions I no longer hold. 请知悉下文自写作或上次更新已届相当时限,或包含过时信息及已摒弃观点。

Bimyou (微妙) is a kind of negative space, a vehicle for doubt or uncertainty or anything counter to the expected flow of an interaction.

“If I asked you how a restaurant was and you replied with ‘bimyou,’ I’m not going there. If I gave you a gift and you called it ‘bimyou,’ I’d think: ‘Great, she hates this gift.’”

In speech, it can be used to describe anything from a sensitive issue (微妙な違い) to a tricky political relationship (微妙な関係). More recently, young people began using it as a way to express negativity or apathy, a kind of verbal shrug.

The Good, the Bad, and the Bimyou by the Foreign Policy https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/07/japan-bimyou-subtle-apathy/