Under the plans announced by Chancellor George Osborne in July, the minimum wage for over-25s will rise from £6.50 an hour to £7.20 in April next year.
It will rise to at least £9 by 2020.
The Scottish government said the proposals were "simply an enhancement of the national minimum wage" rather than a true living wage.
Its Fair Work Secretary, Roseanna Cunningham, also argued that the plan discriminated against under-25s and will bring further complications and inequalities to the national minimum wage structure.
But a UK government spokesman said its proposals were an "essential part of moving to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society where work always pays and the majority of households are better off."
Ms Cunningham has outlined the Scottish government's criticisms in a submission to the Low Pay Commission's consultation on the proposals.
And she called on the UK government to set out a clear plan for moving towards a living wage that "truly reflects the cost of living" rather than merely setting an "arbitrary rate".
Ms Cunningham added: "The so-called national living wage announced in the UK government budget is not a living wage and should not be referred to as such.
"It is simply an enhancement of the national minimum wage which disgracefully discriminates against the under 25s.
"Employers also do not need further complications in the national minimum wage structure and I would encourage all bodies looking at this to ensure that younger workers are treated fairly."
The Scottish government promotes a living wage of £7.85 an hour, with businesses north of the border encouraged to sign up to a voluntary accreditation scheme.
Ms Cunningham said: "We are working hard to increase the number of employers paying the living wage. By this I mean the real living wage, which is calculated according to the cost of living.
"There are now over 300 organisations across Scotland that recognise the tangible benefits to their business of being accredited, huge progress in the last 12 months."
In response, the UK government spokesman said its proposals were expected to directly boost the wages of nearly three million people and would mean a full-time worker would earn £2,000 more per year by 2020.
He added: "For younger workers, the priority is to secure work and gain experience.
"In order to maximise the opportunities for younger workers to gain that experience  the national living wage will only apply to workers aged 25 and over.
"The wages of younger workers will continue to be underpinned by the core national minimum wage."

The Welsh government brought in new regulations to prevent fraudsters abusing the system in 2013.
Councils were told not to just rely on evidence from GPs and there are now concerns that people with genuine disabilities are being refused a badge.
BBC Wales has found that in some areas the number of rejections has more than tripled inside three years.
The Welsh government is looking into complaints from disabled drivers amid fears many elderly or deserving people could be missing out.
Blue badges are issued to people with mobility problems or disabilities and allow the driver to park on double yellow lines or in specialist bays closer to their destination.
Normandy veteran Neil McLeish, who landed on Sword beach with the Welsh Guards in 1944, had his application to renew his blue badge rejected by Neath Port Talbot council.
The 92-year-old angina sufferer from Ystalyfera had held the badge for 10 years but said he was told he had been unable to provide independent evidence to show he had significant difficulty walking.
He said: "Since they took the badge away I don't really go out much in the car because I'm afraid I won't get a parking place. I've just given up."
A Neath Port Talbot council spokesman said: "Welsh government recommends that assessment of eligibility for a blue badge under the discretionary criteria requires the applicant to provide supporting evidence of their mobility-related difficulties from an independent medical practitioner but this does not include their GP."
Of 10 councils which sent comparable data, eight have seen a rise in rejections in 2013-14 compared to 2010-11.
The Vale of Glamorgan council area has seen the largest increase - from 72 up to 237.
Neath MP Peter Hain said: "I'm horrified to learn that rejections are up to almost two thirds greater than they used to be, but it reflects my experience.
"I've never had so many complaints from people who are genuinely disabled."
A Welsh government spokesman said: "We introduced new regulations to ensure fairness and consistency in awarding of the badges, but several issues have been brought to our attention which we are now looking into."
The UK government's National Living Wage plans have been criticised as a "misappropriation of the term" by the Scottish government.
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Rejections for disabled parking badge applications have leapt up since tougher measures were introduced.