Fu-seiritsu-yori-wa mashi-da. (It's better than it ending in failure.)

Situation 1: At the office, Ms. Gray talks to her boss, Mr. Okubo.

グレイ：　 課長、SK社と契約が成立したそうですね。すごいですね。

大久保：　 こちらが大分譲歩したんだが、それでも、不成立よりはましだからね。

Gurei: Kachō, SK-sha-to keiyaku-ga seiritsu-shita-sō-desu-ne. Sugoi-desu-ne.

Ōkubo: Kochira-ga daibu jōho-shita-n-da-ga, sore-demo, fu-seiritsu-yori-wa mashi-dakara-ne.

Gray: Boss, I heard we signed a contract with SK Co. That's marvelous!

Okubo: We made quite a lot of concessions to them, but still, it's better than it all ending in failure.

Today we will introduce the na-adjective ましな and its related expressions. ましな is used to suggest that one thing is better than something else, if still dissatisfactory. Examples: もう少(すこ)しましな料理(りょうり)は出(だ)せないのか (Can't you serve me food that's a bit nicer?); この次(つぎ)のテストでは、ちょっとはましな点 (てん)が取(と)れるようにがんばろう (I'll try to get better marks in my next exam). In Situation 1, Mr. Okubo says that his company reluctantly made a lot of concessions to the other firm, but that an imperfect contract is better than none at all. Thus, まし is often used in the pattern XよりYのほうがましだ/です ( Y is better than X).

Situation 2: Takako's mother finds that her daughter has left pieces of green pepper on her plate.

母： たか子、またピーマン残してる。栄養がかたよると、きれいな女性になれないのよ。

たか子： ピーマン食べるくらいなら、ブスになるほうがまし！

Haha: Takako, mata piiman nokoshite-ru. Eiyō-ga katayoru-to, kireina josei-ni narenai-no-yo.

Takako: Piiman taberu-kurai-nara, busu-ni naru hō-ga mashi!

Mother: Takako, you've left your green pepper again. If your diet is out of balance, you won't grow up to be a beautiful lady.

Takako: I'd rather be an ugly woman than eat green pepper.

When the speaker wants to emphasize that they dislike X, the pattern XくらいならYほうがましだ/です (I'd rather choose Y than X) is often used, where Y is a noun or verb in noun-modifying form. Here, the speaker dislikes both X and Y, but by giving Y as an example, they emphasize just how much they dislike X, as Takako did in Situation 2. 死(し)んだほうがまし (I'd rather die) is sometimes used, though the speaker probably never means it literally. Example: あんな男(おとこ)と結婚(けっこん)するくらいなら、死んだ方がましよ (I'd rather die than marry a man like that).

Bonus Dialogue: Mitsuo comes home quite late.

母：　 お帰(かえ)り。ずいぶん遅(おそ)かったじゃない。

光男：　 うん。部活(ぶかつ)がんばってきたんだ。ああ、疲れた。

母：　　 もう少しましなうそついたら？　ぜんぜん運動(うんどう)してきたようには見(み)えない。

光男：　 え？やっぱりわかる？

母：　　 あたりまえよ。今(いま)まで、だれと何(なに)してたの？

光男：　 一人(ひとり)でゲームセンター。

母：　　 やれやれ、遊(あそ)ぶにしても、もう少(すこ)しましな 遊びはできないかなあ。

光男：　 ましな遊びって？　パチンコとか、競馬(けいば)とか？

母：　　 高校生(こうこうせい)がそんなことしていいわけない でしょ！キャッチボールとか、健康的(けんこうてき)な遊びのことよ。

光男：　 そんなたいくつなことをやるくらいなら、まだ勉強 (べんきょう)のほうがましだ。

母：　　 そうね。じゃ、晩御飯(ばんごはん)がすんだら、さっそく勉強すれば？　キャッチボールのかわりに。

Mother: Welcome back! You're late today.

Mitsuo: Yeah, I've been working hard at my club activity. Oh, I'm tired!

Mother: How about learning to lie better? You don't look like you've been doing sports.

Mitsuo: Oh, can you tell?

Mother: Of course I can. What have you been up to and with whom?

Mitsuo: I was at an amusement arcade by myself.

Mother: Oh, come on, if you have to play, can't you play something better?

Mitsuo: What's better to play? Pachinko, the horses or something?

Mother: High school students can't do that kind of thing! I mean something healthy like playing catch.

Mitsuo: I'd rather study than do something boring like catch.

Mother: OK, then. In that case, why don't you study straight after dinner, instead of playing catch?