How to translate ‘the least + adjective’


The idea of superlative is easy to convey with 一番, 最も or even 最強, 最高, etc. But
I have been wondering for a long time how to express the opposite idea: _the
least_ something. I often lack in ways to express this when I’m talking in
Japanese.

For instance, how would one translate things like _the least risky agreement_
, _the least bad option_ , _the least important clue_?

Obviously it is possible to replace _least bad_ with _best_ in most cases but
the meaning is not really the same. So translating _least bad_ by 最良and _least
risky_ by 一番安全, while it’s basically what I’m doing right now, would not be
the kind of answer I expect.




Unfortunately the Japanese language lacks this feature. Even if you don't
like, you have to rephrase it. For example, to say _the least risky agreement_
,

  * もっとも危険性が低い合意
  * いちばん[まし](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/40225/5010)な合意
  * 可能な中ではもっとも安全な合意 (using 可能な中では to express reluctance)
  * [?]もっとも危険でない合意 (clumsy and ambiguous)
  * [x]もっとも危険で **は** ない合意 (this usually means "not the most dangerous", i.e., not necessarily the safest but at least not the worst)

As you can see, using ない can result in ambiguous expressions and should be
avoided IMHO.

The same thing can be said for `less + (adjective)`. For example _less
important clue_ would be:

  * 重要性がより低い手がかり
  * 比較的重要でない手がかり
  * それほど重要でない手がかり
  * 相対的にはどうでもよい手がかり
  * ○○ほどには重要でない手がかり

FWIW, [this page](http://www.ravco.jp/cat/view.php?cat_id=5346) describes this
English construction (`less/least + (adjective)`) for Japanese people who
learn English. (Note that some Japanese translations in this page are
"literal" in a sense, but ambiguous. 彼は最も重要ではない usually means "He's not the
most important" rather than "He's the least important".)




Unfortunately the Japanese language lacks this feature. Even if you don't
like, you have to rephrase it. For example, to say _the least risky agreement_
,

  * もっとも危険性が低い合意
  * いちばん[まし](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/40225/5010)な合意
  * 可能な中ではもっとも安全な合意 (using 可能な中では to express reluctance)
  * [?]もっとも危険でない合意 (clumsy and ambiguous)
  * [x]もっとも危険で **は** ない合意 (this usually means "not the most dangerous", i.e., not necessarily the safest but at least not the worst)

As you can see, using ない can result in ambiguous expressions and should be
avoided IMHO.

The same thing can be said for `less + (adjective)`. For example _less
important clue_ would be:

  * 重要性がより低い手がかり
  * 比較的重要でない手がかり
  * それほど重要でない手がかり
  * 相対的にはどうでもよい手がかり
  * ○○ほどには重要でない手がかり

FWIW, [this page](http://www.ravco.jp/cat/view.php?cat_id=5346) describes this
English construction (`less/least + (adjective)`) for Japanese people who
learn English. (Note that some Japanese translations in this page are
"literal" in a sense, but ambiguous. 彼は最も重要ではない usually means "He's not the
most important" rather than "He's the least important".)

