They’re usually well dressed, intelligent, and slender, with husky voices and aloof personalities. イケメン is used to talk about good-looking men with a very specific style. It can also be used to describe something that repulses you.Īs for キモい, it only means “gross,” “disgusting,” or “ew.” You can use it as an exclamation like “Ew!” or say キモいだね ( kimoi da ne) to say it’s “Disgusting, right?” イケメン ( ikemen) This one is short for 気持ち悪い ( kimochi warui), which means something gives you a “bad feeling.” 気持ち悪い is often used to describe any kind of bad feeling, like feeling sick or sad. It’s used to express frustration with other people or situations, and it’s often used online as well. This is the short, slangy form of the adjective うるさい ( urusai), which means to be “annoyingly noisy.” When it’s shortened to ウザイ, though, it takes on a bit of a stronger meaning like “what a pain” or “pain in the ass.” (Although not as rude as using that phrase in English.) It can also be used to describe someone gloomy, with an Eeyore-like personality from Winnie the Pooh. You’ll also hear it shortened to ヤバ ( yaba) often, especially by men. This one is incredibly common in everyday speech all around Japan. It covers everything from “terrible”, “ridiculous”, and “crappy” to “amazing” and “awesome.” Its literal meaning is “dangerous,” but is used like “wicked” in English. That’s because adjectives can be conjugated, and the part that gets conjugated is the “i.” You’ll see them written in either kana, though, and both are correct.Īnway, with all that in mind, here are some Japanese slang words to get you started: やばい ( yabai) You’ll hear them often in Japanese dramas and reality shows, too! So they’re easy to pick up and use and sound very natural.Ī quick grammar note: slang words can often be written in either hiragana or katakana, but if it’s an i-adjective, the “i” is often written in hiragana, even if the rest of the word is in katakana. This is part of why slang is so hard to translate and learn: you won’t find a direct translation between languages, you have to learn them by context.īut these slang words can be heard everyday around Japan, especially among the younger generation. To be slangy with nicknames, you would typically shorten someone’s name and add a cute honorific (or omit the honorific altogether). You won’t really find a translation for “dude,” for instance. Unlike English, there aren’t too many slang terms to call other people (at least not ones that are nice to say). Most Japanese slang is used for descriptions, greetings, and outbursts of emotion. I’ve also included some that are exclusive to Tokyo-ben (Tokyo dialect) and Kansai-ben (Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe dialect), which are two of the most common dialects spoken in Japan. So, below are some common Japanese slang words, phrases, and swear words you’ll hear. Celebrities influence slang, the internet morphs new shorthand every day, and Japan is notorious for shortening and combining words.Įven more than that, depending on the region of Japan, you’ll hear quite a difference in tones, sentence endings, and various new slang only spoken in that region.īut understanding slang is key to having a deeper understanding of the language and sounding like a native. It’s hard to teach slang because the words are often blended from a long string of other words or pop culture references. But, Japanese actually boasts tons of slang words! Because Japanese is such a polite language, there’s sometimes a misconception that slang isn’t used often. It’s almost never taught in textbooks (and what they list as “slang” is really just casual speech, or very outdated). They’re also not to be used lightly in every conversation, but to be used appropriately with close friends and peers. Ready to enter the crazy world of Japanese slang?īefore you do, here’s my disclaimer: some of these Japanese slang words are NSFW. Dammit in japanese full#Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
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