This lesson contains a bunch of words you normally wouldn’t use, but may read in manga, hear in movies or if you ever see people fight.
In Japan, people are very conservative in using foul words. Therefore you will rarely hear people using foul words in ordinary conversations. In other languages it may be not so uncommon to use bad words in sentences, maybe even just to strengthen a word. That would not be the case in Japanese. Or at least not in normal polite and educated circles.
There seems not to be as many foul words in Japanese as in English. Probably it is because it is possible to make a really big difference just by changing the politeness level. Just making a sentence to a lower politeness level than expected could really be rude in Japanese. The following examples are just said in a lower politeness level together with the strengthening “yo” in the end, making them sound harsh.
| Romaji | English | Said by | Polite version | |
| なんだよ！ | nandayo! | What (do you want)!!? | men | nan desu ka? |
| なによ！ | naniyo! | What (do you want)!!? | women | nan desu ka? |
| みないでよ！ | minaide yo! | Don’t look! | women | minaide kusasai |
| みるなよ！ | miruna yo! | Don’t look! | men | minaide kusasai |
| みてんじゃねーよ！ | miten ja ne-yo! | Don’t look! | men | minaide kusasai |
| なんていったのよ！ | nante itta no yo? | What did you say!? | women | nan to iimashita ka? |
| なんていったんだよ！ | nante itta n da yo! | What did you say!? | men | nan to iimashita ka? |
| やめろよ！ | yamero yo |
Stop! | men | yamete kudasai |
| やめてよ！ | yamete yo |
Stop! | women | yamete kudasai |
Comparing to the polite version to the right, you can see that there are actually no words that are foul in themselves. You can usually create rough versions of words using the plain form of the verbs, or using the rough imperative form (order form). Plain forms are usually used by themselves only if you are close. If you are using them to someone you do not know so well be considered rude.
Examples of Different Politeness Levela
Here are some examples of a few different ways of making requests or orders.
| To see | Verb form | |||
| 見ます | mimasu | Polite form (-masu) | ||
| 見る |
miru |
Plain form | ||
| 見ない |
minai | Plain negative form | ||
| 見て |
mite | Plain request | ||
| 見て ください | mite kudasai | Polite request | ||
| 見ないで |
minaide | Plain negative request | ||
| 見ないで ください |
minaide kudasai | Polite negative request | ||
| 見ろ |
miro |
Rough imperative (order) | ||
| 見るな |
miruna |
Rough negative imperative (order) |
Words for Fights
Here’s a list of other words, that can be used in fights or quarrels. Please be careful about using them, as they may actually be considered more rude in Japanese than their English counterpart.
| Romaji | English | Said by | |
| 馬鹿／バカ | baka! | Idiot! | |
| バカみたい | baka mitai! | You look stupid! | |
| バカだ | baka da! | That’s stupid! | |
| バカやめてよ | baka yamete yo! | Stop being stupid! | women |
| バカやめろよ | baka yamero yo! | Stop being stupid! | men |
| うそつき | usotsuki! | Liar! | |
| このすけべ | kono sukebe! | You lewd! | |
| このへんたい | kono hentai! | You pervert! | |
| だまってよ | damatte yo! | Shut up! | women |
| だまれよ | damare yo! | Shut up! | men |
| このくそったれ | kono kusottare | You asshole! | men |
| このあま | kono ama! | You bitch! | women |
| やりまん | yariman! | Slut/whore! | |
| ちび | chibi! | Shorty! | |
| よわむし | yowamushi | Weakling! | |
| ぶす | busu! | You’re ugly! | to women |
| げそ | geso! | You’re ugly! | to men |
| ぶた | buta! | Pig! | |
| でぶ | debu! | Fatso! | |
| おかま | okama! | Fag! | to boy |
| おてんば | otemba! | Tomboy! | to women |
| おとこおんな | otoko onna! | Tomboy! | to women |
| くそ | kuso! | Shit! | |
| うんこ | unko | Shit! |
You may also want to look at the article 200 Slang Expressions in Japanese.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu,
Johan
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11:57 pm on May 7th, 2012
@viharati
Unless you`re japanese yourself, it doesn`t really matter how you feel about the strengthening “yo” particle. This is not a matter of opinion, but of linguistic fact. What really counts is what over 127 million japanese consider to be right, not the feeling of one person about it.
Sorry if I`m coming out a bit rude, but that`s just how things are. I personally don`t also feel the strength or “pressure” behind “yo”, but that`s my problem. It doesn`t change the fact that the japanese language works that way.
6:36 pm on January 31st, 2012
look guys there is other ways to say for masculin and fiminem or however its spelt. that is besides the point, the point is is that even in spanish there is going to be words for thoughs that are either boy or girl. its just common sense everyone.
7:21 am on December 3rd, 2011
Thank god I took my time to read all the links. I could have skipped this. I always thought ‘Sukebe’ meant ‘selfish’ even though it meant ‘lewd’. I might have offended a few people…
5:58 pm on November 30th, 2011
dont use these that much
4:18 pm on November 11th, 2011
@Jericho – ” nan desu ka kudasai ” is not grammatically correct.
1:29 am on November 9th, 2011
hey guys. do u know “nandeska kudesai” ? pls help me. thanks
5:08 pm on October 16th, 2011
shoubu wa mada tsuicha inai yo ^^
i love kill bill
4:31 am on July 7th, 2011
i think mushi means something closer to , A noisey insect that sings. But i could be mistaken
2:36 am on June 6th, 2011
4:26 pm on May 17th, 2011
lol! This is Hilarious my guts were busted when i read this! I knew about ‘baka’ and ‘kuso’ but this list takes the cake! (i yhink i might use these on my bro!)
2:38 am on April 29th, 2011
wow. i can use this and say that i said something nice! thats the good thing about nihongo: theres no connection to english.
i noticed in weakling: mushi also means bug or insect or something
2:51 am on April 21st, 2011
I can’t wait to use this on people, not get in trouble, and get them confused so they go; huuuuuuuuuuuuuh?
3:14 am on April 19th, 2011
このあま
8:01 am on March 11th, 2011
It’s important that we’re aware of these. So we can avoid offending others.
3:18 am on March 10th, 2011
I want to disapprove of this. I really do. But I can’t! I use this on my enemies all of the time.
so thnx, i guess. . .
7:30 pm on September 26th, 2010
i think ‘ketsu’ also means mosquito(larva), excellence,and that in some cases and that ‘ana’ thingy also means announcer in some cases..japanese words connect to have a meaning here some of it from ‘ketsu’ words let see …’ketsubetsu’ means farewell…
12:04 am on September 11th, 2010
means (rotten) i think
and asshole in japanese is ( KETSU NO ANA)
ketsu means ass , ana means hole i think..
11:26 am on August 31st, 2010
You said ” the strengthening “yo” in the end, making them sound harsh”, but I don’t agree with the idea that “yo” adds an harsher feel, because that’s the opposite of what I feel.
It seems that many sites tell “yo” is like “!”, but I can’t feel that way. Actually, to me, what is really “!” (or decisive) is the one without any sentence-ending particles. And “yo” do softens some expressions that sound strong e.g. imperative sentences or ~ no_da sentences.
When it comes to the examples above, it feels pretty much a complain rather than a harsh order.
In my oppinion I would say “yo” reflects the speaker’s feel of consideration for the fact that what he says may affect the listener’s recognition or the feel that “I want you to consider what I’m saying”.
(Take it easy
)
5:40 pm on August 14th, 2010
lol I know some people who use meanie and I was wondering if that could be translated to Japanese. Arigatou!
1:30 am on July 20th, 2010
My first observation from watching, Anime is that girls use masculine words and forms like “Boku” as in “I” so i wonder with the westernization of Japanese culture if masculine and feminine is that important anymore? #2 The site says it means Shi* but “Kuso” is translated in almost every anime i have seen as “Damn” Some clarity maybe by someone less ignorant than my self please
1:17 am on July 20th, 2010
I watch a lot of anime and my suspicion is that feminine and masculine don’t much matter anymore at least not in anime’s. For instance “Boku Wa” “I am” is used by women charachter’s in anime but to my knowledge “Boku” is a masculine form of “I”. Just an observation. I may be totally wrong. On another note “Kuso” is most frequently translated as “Damn it” and not the S word. again another observation, the Osaka, Tokyo and that odd dialect may have an influence on how words are used in context..
3:09 am on June 16th, 2010
I was watching a subbed TV show, and in one of scenes ‘bastard’ was translated; it was used a few time afterwards, too. I didn’t quite hear what the word was, and wondered if its on this list, under a different name? Or should it be added to the list?
3:48 pm on June 10th, 2010
this is really great…
5:28 am on April 1st, 2010
chibi is a cuss word DEPENDING on how you use it.
if it’s use is to offend people, then it is a cuss word.
you see guys, the tone of your voice while saying these words -especially japanese words- is IMPORTANT.
you may offend others even though you’re using polite words yet saying in a harsh way.
you get what i mean, guys?
10:46 pm on February 16th, 2010
chibi is a cuss word?!?!?!
11:19 am on January 16th, 2010
It is like saying “Can you please lower your volume/voice?” which is generally a polite was to ask someone to be quiet, versus telling them to “Shut up” or “Shut your yap” which is harsher. Many English speakers take for granted the many ways we say the same thing, and thus get confused when other languages do the same.
9:08 pm on December 30th, 2009
some one told me that there were no cussing words in japanese.
and why does it have “woman” and “men”? can’t we all just say it?
7:02 am on December 23rd, 2009
Urusai wa Ne i probably misspelled that..
2:32 am on December 2nd, 2009
Yes, sex is important when speaking japanese.
A man can probably say “yamete yo”, sounding unpolite but still well-mannered, but a woman saying “yamero yo” sounds so manly… but that, as well, might be her intention if she wants to sound very rude. There are also expressions and words that are feminine in its sound, and a guy using them can end up embarrassing himself.
9:50 pm on December 1st, 2009
What is the difference between kuso and unko? Is one of them worse than the other?
3:55 am on November 13th, 2009
HAH and my sensei said there are nooooo curse words japanese….
well now i can say stuff like that in japanese class
8:39 pm on October 3rd, 2009
Sweet! Now i can cruse guys that i hate!
4:38 am on October 1st, 2009
No, “n” is a word all by itself. It is a more informal equivalent of the particle “no”. So “nante itta no yo” and “nante itta n da yo” differ only in style of speech. “no” is essentially the same as “n”, and both “no” and “n da” can be thought of as short forms of the polite equivalent, “no desu ka”.
12:15 am on October 1st, 2009
on “nante itta n da yo” is there supposed to be something before or after the n?
11:22 pm on August 3rd, 2009
This is kind of different. Most languages have different names for people of different genders, at least some of the time. English doesn’t have male and female words for friend, but it does have words like actor and actress.
What’s going on here is that in Japanese there are different words USED by males and females to convey similar meanings. I don’t think this is the case to a similar extent in any other language that I am familiar with.
11:13 pm on August 3rd, 2009
this is sort of like spanish we use “o” and “a” to distinguish a boy from a girl. ex: Amiga (a friend who’s a girl) / Amigo (a friend who’s a boy)
11:05 pm on June 5th, 2009
Well, it’s difficult to say why, but there are so many expressions which are used by the specific gender. Normally, women don’t say “yameroyo”. If a woman said like that, she will be regard as a strange or rough person like a man. Or possibly some people might think she was actually HE. Actually it’s common to distinguish the person’s gender by his/her speaking way. Japanese is such a language.
4:54 pm on June 5th, 2009
Example:
“Stop being stupid!” Has to be said different?
Why? I mean in america we have one word to say and all of us can say it, in japan does it really make a difference? I mean a boy has to say:
baka yamero yo!
And A women has to say:
baka yamete yo!
But why? Does it REALLY make a difference on how you say it?
3:41 pm on January 19th, 2009
As Johan said, some of these words are considered ruder by nihonjin than their English translations are considered by English speakers. Perhaps social expectations are more rigid in nihon than in the U.S. or England, and it is more insulting to tell someone that their behavior is different from what is expected of someone of their age and gender. I am just guessing.
It’s interesting that cross-gender themes come up so frequently in anime and manga– but sometimes, what a culture considers somewhat taboo is more likely to appear in popular literature.
1:42 pm on January 19th, 2009
how is that fowl??i’m a tomboy.