There were two men. One of them said that he was somewhat satisfied, and the other man said that he was somewhat dissatisfied. Who do you think was more satisfied?
Which cup is half full? And which one is half empty?
They’re twice as big as they need to be…
I would say that ‘somewhat satisfied’ is more satisfied than ‘somewhat dissatisfied’. It reminds me of those surveys where they ask you whether you:
Totally Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Agree, Totally Agree. I can’t remember the exact wording, but there are different levels of agreement. And then I guess you could make it even more specific if you wanted to.
However, I somewhat agree with blindside’s answer too.
I wonder if it is possible that “somewhat dissatisfied” is more positive expression than “somewhat satisfied.”
I’d have the same feeling as you Yutaka. I feel that “somewhat dissatisfied” is more positive than “somewhat satisfied”. I infer that “somewhat dissatisfied” means that I am mostly satisfied, except for some small matter. “Somewhat satisfied,” conversely, would mean that I am largely dissatisfied, excepting some small detail.
Dissatisfied<—————Indifferent—————>Satisfied
Another way of looking at it:
- Somewhat satisfied: Liked a thing or two (shifted to the right from “Indifferent”)
- Somewhat dissatisfied: Didn’t like a thing or two (shifted to the left from “Indifferent”)
“Somewhat dissatisfied” can also me that your satisfaction was a little less that you had expected. “Somewhat satisfied” can mean that your level of satisfaction was only a little more than zero satisfaction.
Thank you for responding to my inquiry.
I realized that if there is an origin in the middle of the scale, “somewhat satisfied” is somewhat positive, and if there is not such a point, “somewhat dissatisfied” is near to complete satisfaction, and is a very positive answer.
There were two woman. One said that she was somewhat satisfied and the other said she was somewhat dissatisfied. Which of the two were more satisfied?
Answer: It was the same woman, and the two descriptions reflect her attitude in about a ten minute span of any given day. 
