So-so means not very good, but not terrible either. It can describe how something is going, how you feel, or the quality of something that is merely average. Cambridge gives examples like “So-so” as an answer to “How are you getting along with your new boss?”, and Merriam-Webster defines it as “neither very good nor very bad.”

It is close to meh, but not identical. Meh usually expresses indifference or lack of interest, while so-so is more about mediocrity or being only passably okay. Cambridge defines meh as showing that you are not interested or do not care, while so-so is more like average, middling, or just okay.

✅ “How are you today?” — “So-so.”
This is one of the most natural uses: you are not doing great, but you are not doing terribly either. Cambridge gives this kind of use directly.

✅ The movie was so-so.
Here, so-so means the movie was ordinary, mediocre, or not especially impressive. Cambridge and Merriam-Webster both define it that way.

✅ The meal was so-so, but my reaction was basically meh.
This works because so-so describes the quality of the meal, while meh describes the speaker’s lack of enthusiasm. Cambridge’s definitions support that distinction.

❌ The presentation was amazing — just so-so.
✅ The presentation was so-so.
Because so-so means mediocre or only passable, it clashes with strongly positive descriptions. Merriam-Webster and Cambridge both place it in the middle, not the top.

The most common mistake is treating so-so as if it meant boring, awful, or I don’t care. It usually does not go that far. So-so is milder: it suggests something was acceptable, ordinary, or underwhelming. If you want to express indifference rather than mediocre quality, meh is often the better fit. Cambridge’s entries make that contrast clear.

Another common mistake is assuming so-so sounds unnatural or outdated. Cambridge and Merriam-Webster still list it as current informal English, and the Cambridge English-Spanish entry even gives así así as a direct equivalent in this everyday sense.

Use this quick rule:

A simple memory trick:

so-so judges the thing
meh shows your attitude

That distinction matches the way Cambridge defines the two words: so-so for middling quality, meh for indifference or lack of interest.