Looking through resources, it seems that あまり ~ない can be used for 'not _verb_
often', 'not _verb_ much' and 'not _verb_ well' depending on the context. Is
there an easy way to tell which version is being used in a sentence and any
way to make my own sentences' meanings clearer?

For example: あまり食べません could mean I don't eat much or I don't eat often.

And if I wanted to say "I don't often speak Japanese" could I say 日本語はあまり話さない
without it being misunderstood as "I don't speak Japanese well"?
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2020-09-18T01:57:13.953
80711
2020-09-18T14:28:13.117
40349
question
translation nuances adverbs
Contextual uses of あまり ~ない？
There is no way to identify the specific meaning of あまり〜ない other than
context...

As for your last qusetion, 日本語はめったにorたまにしか話しません is better to be correctly
understood. If you stick to あまり〜ない structure, add 普段. 普段あまり話さない sounds not
often, rather than not well.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-18T14:28:13.117
80721
2020-09-18T14:28:13.117
38735
80711
answer