Just watched a video where a German drank some Americans self made beer or something and said it’s not bad. To me as a German, not bad is like 75% on the scale of something being good or bad where 100% would be perfect.
But the comments under the video were being really weird like in the USA its seen as a negative thing. So how do you guys see this phrase? What would you think if someone said something is “not bad”?
Comments
Average or ok
It means its good, its kind of like a softballed compliment
Not bad is what I say when I don’t really care for it but I want to be polite.
To me and people I know (so I don’t/won’t speak for all Americans) "Not Bad" is 50% at best. It means its not bad…but isn’t good either.
To me, not bad implies you didnt have high expectations, and were perhaps pleasantly surprised.
It depends. Sometimes it is used as a hyperbole, like having something that is pure perfection and saying "well, that’s not bad." But other times, it can be a polite way to say "it’s not good, and I wouldn’t have it again."
For me:
100% Great. The Best. Tops. The Bomb. Dope ass shit.
90% Really good. Up there.
80% Pretty good.
75% Not bad
50% Ok, Not Great
40% Not very good
20% Bad
10% Trash
Not bad would mean 75% to me too. Or if something sounds like a weird combo but ends up being good. Tone of voice would make a big difference.
it depends on the inflection. Not bad with an upward vocal inflection is positive. Not bad with a downward inquisitive inflection is negative.
It could be a way of saying it’s good depending on your relationship with the person who made it. If you have a friendly though antagonistic relationship, the kind where you never say anything nice about the person but are actually friends with them, then saying “not bad” would be about the best you could describe it. “Not bad considering you made it”
It could also be a way to downplay something that is exceptional because you don’t like the person. “Eh, it’s not bad, I’ve had better.”
IMHO it depends on context. If I had spent a lot of time making something, like a beer, a movie, a sculpture, or a fancy dinner and someone said it was "not bad" it would feel like an insult because it’s something I am passionate about I put a lot of time and effort into. It’s no more words to say "it’s amazing" or "really good." It’s no more effort. You know this is something that matters to me. If all you can say is not bad then you basically don’t give a shit about me.
If you’re eating a frozen pizza or some take out and I ask how is it and you say not bad, I’d agree that means a 75% out of 100%.
"Not bad" in the American Midwest means "pretty good", so basically the same as your scale.
Depends on how it’s said. Inflection is key.
Comments on YouTube videos are not a reliable source of information.
For me, it means that it’s alright. I wouldn’t be opposed to having it again, but I wouldn’t seek it out either.
It’s extremely dependent on tone.
If you say “not bad” in a flat voice, it comes off as “passing” or middle of the road. It’s not GOOD but it’s not bad either. Has a negative connotation.
If you say “not bad” with a more playful/teasing voice, it comes off as good. The implication is that you are saying “not bad” as an overly harsh critic who doesn’t want to admit it’s actually good.
honestly it depends on how someone says it to me.
"well, it’s not bad…"
feels like my thing sucks and you’re trying not to hurt my feelings, but…
"naaaaawt baaaaaad!"
is an absolute win in my book 👍
Americans tend to be less blunt than Germans (a blunt statement).
If a German says, "not bad", they tend to mean, "not bad "
An American will generally try to be a bit more polite, say, add 10-20% on the spectrum you mentioned.
So, if an American "damns with faint praise", meaning, "says it’s bad by saying it’s only a little good", that can mean that they don’t really like it but are trying to be nice.
A 75% for an American would be something like, "that’s really good" with a 90% being, "that’s the best I’ve ever tasted, no, seriously"
That’s how I use the phrase. About 75% good, meaning I would not stop drinking that beer.
It all depends on tone.
How you say it can mean anything from "damn, this is pretty good," to "wow, this is the least we can accept."
It really depends.
Could be referring to someone doing something impressive or better than expected. Not bad!
Could be someone who is eating an alright meal, doesn’t really wow them. Not bad.
Could be directed at someone who talked a big game but came up short. (sarcastic) Not bad.
It can depend on the tone. There’s a very specific tone of saying ‘not bad!’ that can be inferred to mean ‘this is unexpectedly very good!’. But outside of that tone, it’s seen as ‘this is just ok, not particularly good but it’s fine I guess’. It can even be a polite way of saying ‘This is ok but I don’t like it, so I’m going to say something vaguely not-negative so I don’t have to continue talking about it anymore’.
If I made dinner and my husband said it’s not bad I’d assume he doesn’t like it very much but it’s passable enough that he’ll still eat it.
For me not bad means I’ll drink it, but won’t order it, unless it’s better than everything else on the menu.
For me it’s Stella Artois. If every tap ends in Lite, is overly hopped or has fruit in it, I’ll order it.
To me “it’s not bad” is the same thing as “it’s okay”.
50% at absolute best for me
Americans do not universally agree on this!
As evidence, I’ll present the one million arguments I’ve had with my partner when they say that, for instance, a meal I cooked was “not bad” as a compliment, and I am hurt by it.
As a Minnesotan, I will add that if you add the ‘too’ modifier it will allow you to unemotionally convey emotion
Not too bad – pretty good
Not too good – pretty bad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm-MrkoJPC8
Wouldn’t crave it ever but it’s good.
We view it similar to you. Probably around 65% to 75% on the scale.
It is expressing that you enjoy the thing, but also that you expected it to be worse. It may mean you really like it depending on phrasing.
So, based on the context you provided, it sounds like the German expected the American beer to be sub-par, but was surprised when it was not. The comments then pointed out that the United States has a huge variety of fantastic beer. It isn’t 1968 anymore, we probably make the best beer in the world.
It’s a compliment. You’re right that it’s a little bit below perfect, but it’s saying that something was more good than bad. There’s a little bit of an implication that any flaws you point out will be nit picks.
“Not bad” means “I didn’t like it and won’t order it again but I’m still willing to finish this pint glass.”
Not bad to me means tolerable.
“not bad” is a positive thing but it shows there’s room for improvement
Depends on the context, as well as facial expression and tone with which it’s said. To me it is either
"Average but I don’t want to be rude"
Or
"That’s very good which is surprising to me"
Both can come across as complimentary or rude, for instance the latter can be seen as rude if the listener is offended that the other person’s expectations were so low
When speaking Minnesotan it’s important to dilute the power of a positive by phrasing it with a negative. So "not bad" instead of "good" is appropriate. A full, undiluted positive feels too confrontational to us.
What it means depends entirely on the tone of voice and body movements.
It’s more about the tone and delivery.
If you sound excited and are like "Hey that’s not bad!". Then that’s a compliment.
If your obviously fumbling to say something that is nice and go "it’s not bad" than it’s like saying the best thing you could think about it was that it wasn’t the worst beer you ever drank.
100% tone dependent
Not bad is better than okay but less than pretty good
Not American:
Not bad in the UK would mean average its not the worst but its also nothing rave about.
75% would be like saying 3/4 which would mean good
Depends on the intonation.
A quick, succinct "Not bad." with a rising intonation at the end means it’s decent.
A long, drawn out "Not bad." also with a rising intonation, spoken as though it were not to anyone in particular means it’s surprisingly good.
A sudden, flat "Not bad." with no inflection means they didn’t dislike it, but wouldn’t choose it if given the choice.
People on the internet are often looking to get bent out of shape about something.
It’s not bad
It does depend on context. But overall I would probably use it if I was expecting (or at least prepared for) the thing to be bad, and then discovered it wasn’t actually bad. The degree can range from “it is ok but not good” clear up through “wow, that was a lot better than I expected.” I probably would NOT use it for “that’s the best I’ve ever had/done/seen and I can’t wait to eat/do/see it again.” But I might use it for something I enjoyed.
Justin Theriault
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Maybe it will turn into a Vance Nazi training ground ..
It can be used as a way of saying “pretty good” but it can also be used as a polite way of saying “it isn’t terrible but not that good either”.
To me, it conjures the phrase "damning by faint praise."
Someone thinks it’s going to be bad, tries it, it isn’t bad, but it isn’t good.
Pretty much just not bad, so neutral or better
To further confuse the discourse, there’s also the phrase , “that’s not HALF bad!”
Eh, not bad
Means it’s palatable or tolerable. It’s not so good that you would actively seek it out again but if it were ever presented to you again you’d have no issue drinking it. It’s not gross to the point you’d refuse.
Pretty much can be applied to anything else.
"Not bad" is similar to "okay". 🤔 **They are slightly different, tho. Just don’t know how to describe it.
"I will not spit this out in front of you"
The the best but not the worst
Either… average
But as others have said, it can depend on inflection
Depending on how it’s said, it can mean anything from “barely okay” to “really good”. Tone and cadence is very significant in the English language.
To me, it’s very context specific.
For example, if someone prepares a nice meal or something, I might use it as ‘not bad at all.’
However, for a review, like gas station coffee I will use not bad to mean it’s passable as coffee… But it’s not preferable.
Edit: changed everything
It depends.
Not bad (monotone) = alright.
Not bad (monotone with an attempt at hiding disgust/displeasure-like fascial expressions) = Not good, but I don’t want to hurt your feelings.
Not bad (semi-high pitched) = bad to alright, but I want to give the impression it’s really good. Can be followed with the same pitched response "No, it’s good. I mean it."
Not bad (semi-high pitched with more authentic facial expressions; maybe an added chuckle) = surprisingly good.
Depends on whether you mean [not bad] (single phrase, positive) or [not] [bad] (in which not is negating bad but doesn’t indicate a positive necessarily. Neutral at best.)
It just means it’s above average. Usually better than the person saying it thought it would be. But inotation is everything. Depending on how "not bad" was said can convey different things.
Not bad to me is neutral to good
Americans tend not to understate things on a regular basis. So if you say something’s not bad, you might actually mean it’s disgusting and you’re being polite but don’t want to lie, or you might mean it’s just fine, or you might mean it’s actually amazing. It really depends on the inflection. We also tend to give a lot of credit for effort and the work someone put in to something, so if you say "not bad" when trying someone’s handmade beer, you’re judging the quality of their work rather than just appreciating something that’s been shared with you, which is probably going to be rude in a social context.
Not bad means half good, you’ll kinda seem like a dick if someone for example makes you something and you say it’s not bad.
We inherited a good deal of that British polite indirectness; if an American, Canadian, Australian, etc. says something is "not bad" or "alright" they’re more than likely trying to politely move past the fact that they see it as mediocre. And if something extracts genuine criticism from any of these peoples, you know it’s really missed the mark.
In my own life, this initially caused some culture shock vs. my Dutch and German friends—for whom brutal honesty is a given, and unqualified positive commentary about things is hard to elicit—so it’s fun to see these commenters experience the same in real time.
Depends on tone and context
If you can hear Matthew McConaughey’s voice saying “not bad,” instead of “alright,” that’s actually an indication that something is pretty darn good and exceeds expectations. Same for “Hmmpf, not bad at all.”
“Not bad,” with a slightly curled smile, head tilt, and tiny shoulder drug probably means 50% on your scale and may have exceeded low expectations. You would consume it if it is being served at a banquet… But you would not order it.
“I mean… it’s not baaad,” mean something is bad and you’re trying to be polite.
As with many things in America, it depends on the tone. If you say not bad and pitch it high, as if you’re surprised a bit, it’s more complimentary than saying it and stressing only the word bad, as though it’s almost bad but you don’t quite want to classify it that way.
Not bad is a bit vague sometimes, but most often means better than expected, but I won’t make it a habit. It can also mean the beer sucks and you’re just being polite in not saying so.
I just realized, I use "not bad" positively and "not great" negatively.
Not bad is neutral not good is negative
For me it would mean I didn’t particularly dislike but I didn’t like it either. Like I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat/drink it again
Depends on the expression and the inflection.
Anywhere from mild praise, surprised delight, to concealed derision
Not bad is just short of recommending it.
Its not bad to use.
To me, not bad means it is significantly better than I expected it to be.
It depends a bit on the tone. If the tone of voice is upbeat then inot bad is another way of saying it is good. If the tone is less lively it might mean the person doesn’t think it is terrible but doesn’t like it much. Or it might seem like they are just trying to be polite.
it’s impossible to say without seeing the clip. it is very context dependent and tone matters
Not bad means pretty good, but is usually used when you expected not to like something. A similar comment would be along the lines of “I was pleasantly surprised.”
So, “Martha brought her anchovy dip to the party and it was not bad.”
Or …
“I tried the new Hulu show and it was not bad.”
I’d say it’s either pleasantly surprised when you didn’t have high expectations, or you had higher expectations and was a bit disappointed.
Or there’s the third option, where you had no expectations but was somehow disappointed anyways because things definitely could’ve gone better but they also could’ve been 10x worse
Not bad is fairly neutral. So like fifty percent on your scale, or maybe a little below that. But if said with positive excitement it can mean good in a surprising way.
Totally ambiguous on its own and entirely depends on the tone and context. Often used to mean excellent. Could also mean terrible or, literally, mediocre.
One of my favorite sayings is “That doesn’t suck!”
It’s a humorous way of implying something is actually pretty good.
Not bad in the U.S. means you didn’t hate it but probably never getting it or trying again.
Meh +
Quite good.
In my opinion, not bad is usually “well it’s better than I thought.” Or it’s a way of being polite when someone doesn’t like something, but doesn’t want to be rude. Meanwhile if they actually like it, they might say “wow that’s actually really good.”
"Not bad!" means I like it. "Not bad." means it’s unremarkable, but fine.
Not bad is a compliment.
My ex who is from eastern Europe HATED the phrase, she basically saw it as an F.
But in reality it’s like a C+ or a B-
Meh…not bad
In this context of a German trying an American beer, I would guess it’s meant to convey that the German is surprised by how good the beer is.
From what I understand, many Europeans think American beer is terrible, only Bud Light and the equivalents. But the American craft beer scene is incredibly good now, with tons of options and small, local breweries.
There was a negative expectation, but it’s not bad.
It all depends how you say it. A “huh, not bad” is better (pleasantly surprised) than a “it’s not… bad” (it’s not to your liking, but it is not the absolute worst)
Depends on the tone of voice when said
I’m a Minnesotan and saying "not bad" or "not too bad" is generally a compliment. It’s one of those things where the tone of voice and body language are needed to understand that the speaker is saying it with a touch of irony.
This one of those stereotypical "Fargo" figures of speech that are used to show that someone is from the upper Midwest.
It’s all about inflection. If you say “It’s not…BAD” it implies it is also not good. If you say “ hmm not bad “like the Obama meme or “Hey that’s not bad!” Those mean pleasantly surprised.
Depends on the region. Upper Midwest uses a lot of seemingly contradictory language to each situation. More positive terms would be used in a negative situation, like expressing exasperation, whereas the negative can be used to express enjoyment, or at least contentment.
A majority of the white population of the upper Midwest is germanic or Nordic, so cultural idioms and speech patterns likely carried over in the last several decades.
In this case if I say not bad with a smile on my face. It will mean I can drink or eat this. Or buy it often. Maybe not my favorite but worth it.
Oh it’s not bad.
Not bad could be passively-aggressively saying it needs improvement but isn’t completely terrible. I’d say it ranks 50%. Tolerable but not preferable.
My perception, as an American with an immigrant family who says “not bad” for a lot of things….we perceive it as 75% good, others hear 30% good. People are not used to the phrasing here.
For me, the line between good and bad is at 50%. Bad is below, good is above. "Not bad" is just above 50%.
“Ain’t bad”, however, means good.
Not bad means it’s good, and I expected it to be bad.
“Not bad” can often be used very positively. Kind of like implying that this is a very good start.
It’s a dig in my book.
I ask my son if he liked his dinner ( not bad ) he says. Look I’m not looking for endless superlatives here about my cooking. I just think if it’s not bad maybe you should try to cook it yourself.
It depends on the inflection it’s said with.
For some, it means "acceptable" (your 75% good definition fits this usage perfectly), and for others, it’s a term of neutrality to be taken literally. It might not have been good, but it was also "not bad."
I would rate “not bad” at about 50%.
Depending on intonation, it could be 10% or it could be 90%.
With limited context, I agree with you, not bad means just that, it’s not bad. It’s obviously not great or amazing, but it’s not bad. Not knowing the video your referencing, my guess is they took offense because in their mind it is 100% so to be told that it’s only 75% (not bad) is why people reacted negatively. Not because they thought he actually meant it was bad, but because he didn’t think it was amazing.
About the same as pretty good.
If you say it with a huge grin and say, "Not baaaaad!", it’s positive. If you say it with a flat tone, it could be seen as critical.
In the UK, like in Germany, understatement is used. People will say "not bad" and they mean "pretty good." Americans like do overstate things: "Amazing! Perfect! Outstanding!", so "not bad" might seem less than "pretty good."
I think “not bad” generally means probably 60-75%, yeah.
Like, either it’s so much better than you thought it would be or it’s something you’d drink if your preferred options weren’t there.
Technically “not bad” is just over 5 at a 1-10 scale. 4 is bad, just above that we have not bad at 5 or 6.
There’s “Not bad!” Which means impressive.
Then there’s “… not bad…” which means there is room for improvement.
It still depends on tone a little to me because if someone said something was not bad with kind of a neutral attitude like, “Yeah it’s not bad,” it would sound to me like the thing was an acceptable choice/fine and that’s good enough. If someone maybe tried a beer or food and said, “Oh wow that’s not bad” with a surprised face maybe, they’d be saying that it was better than expected and maybe they like it a lot or at least want to try another sip or bite to decide.
If said nonchalantly is basically short for; "Not good, but not bad."
If said enthusiastic, it means "my expectations were low, but this exceeded them."
Depends on the inflection. It can either mean "not bad but also not good." Or it can mean "not bad, I was expecting it to be bad but I’m actually pleasantly surprised"
It usually means, "pretty good, but I did not expect it to be."
It means just ok unless the person is being sarcastic.
It’s all about context…not bad usually means it’s okay…it’s neutral.
but it can sometimes be a compliment you got a 102 on your test? Not bad.
And then there’s the negative version…”not bad…but not good either”
My dad would say "not bad" about nearly everything.
3.6 Roentgen. Not great. Not terrible.
The American “goodness system” is as follows from shittiest to best
Horrible / Terrible
Bad
Meh
Okay
Decent
Not Bad
Good
“Not Bad at all”
Great
Awesome
The tits
"not bad" means "tolderable." It’s literally not bad but that also very much means it is not good. Kids today might equate it with "mid" in English.
Tonal inflection is the determining factor. It can mean that you were pleasantly surprised, it could mean that it’s not "good" (but not quite bad either), it could mean it could mean pretty good.
Depends on inflection and context. Enthusiastically saying "hey, that’s not bad!" or "that’s not too shabby!" is going to be taken (and usually meant as a compliment). It is borderline colloquialism for saying you like something.
Saying it less enthusiastically is a more tempered compliment to someone not wanting to hurt feelings. Knowing which end of the spectrum will depend on context clues and your knowledge of the person.
The 75% assessment for "not bad."
My friends and I have a different for when something is really good; "that does not suck!"
its often the initial thing said about something you actually like.
Not bad to me means “acceptable, but disappointing.”
Tone is gonna matter a lot, it could be anywhere from mediocre to surprisingly good.
75% is more like, "Not bad… It’s actually pretty good." And there’s an exaggerated frown with head nodding. "Not bad" can be anywhere from palatable (I wouldn’t drink it again and I probably won’t finish this one, but I can have a few more sips without a gun to my head) to good (I might actually ask for another one or even order it specifically if every other option is boring).
It depends on the inflection of "bad". If the tone rises at the end ("not bad!"), that implies the speaker was pleasantly surprised by the quality. If the tone is flat ("not bad."), that implies that it was satisfactory. If the tone drops off("not bad…"), that implies a mild disappointment.
As an American, if I had to give “not bad” a percentage rating, I’d put it maybe 50-60%. At 75%, something is fine or okay.
I use that phrase all the time and regard it as a positive.
I think people assume that I’m underwhelmed with something I deem "not bad", but to me it’s on par with nicely done, good job, or that’s pretty good.
Really high praise from me would be outstanding, phenomenal, or excellent.
Its mildly positive.
But. "Not bad, not bad at all" is much more positive.
Depends on tone and context. Not bad can be either positive or negative, but not strongly so. You can approvingly say ‘that’s not bad.’ That usually means it’s better than expected, but still not really good. Or you can hesitantly say ‘it’s not … bad.’ Which usually means it’s worse than expected, or even that it is bad and you just don’t want to sound harsh by saying that outright.
It varies, but can often mean that you didn’t like it but don’t want to be impolite
In my experience it’s more or less the same as you. But it can also be used as a dig towards someone/thing. Context is key.
I think it depends on the context. It can be insulting, but it’s usually like what you described – 75 out of 100.
Depends on how it’s said. Depending on context, it can mean ‘good’ or ‘not terrible but not great either’
To me, "not bad" is praise for something.
Yeah, that’s pretty much how we use it. I’d describe it as a noncommittal compliment. It’s good, probably better than we expected, but were not gonna sing its praises.
I think tone really matters with this one, because it can also mean, “it’s not good, but I don’t want to insult you.” Generally, “not bad” is a compliment.
I use it like you describe, about 75%. But many people feel that saying, "it’s not bad" is a negative and something is stopping you from saying "it’s good". Meaning, it’s barely tolerable. When I tell my wife her meal was not bad, I get in trouble because I didn’t say it was good, but that’s exactly what I meant.
It’s alright
Not bad has a wide range to me and depends on their voice, face expression, and what they follow it up with. Something can be "not bad" but if they follow it up with not good either then it’s straight MEH. Or it could be better than I anticipated, which again, has a wide range. At the very least it’s probably 50% on your scale, below that is probably in the bad category.
“How was the food?” “Not bad”. Meaning it wasn’t anything special you’d tell someone about, but that wasn’t a bad meal.
“How was your day?” “Not bad”. Kind of an average day where things went ok.
The phrase more or less means things were ok.
Für mich, “not bad” ist besser als die Witz “das man kann essen.” Oder hier trinken.
Very much depends on inflection. It could mean "unremarkable," "it’s not very good but I’m being polite," or "wow, that’s definitely better than expected." Any one of those meanings could be conveyed depending on vocal emphasis and facial expression. To put it another way, it’s yet another example of "It depends," like many things in American life.