Japanese Slang

By Maki Hayasaka

Japanese Slang is an urban dictionary for the digital generation!

Although Japanese culture is best known for its sense of formality and politeness, the Japanese are particularly fond of playing with language, in large part thanks to the versatility and nuance that their writing systems provide. This results in playful combinations of kanji, kana, and English, where conventional phrases are twisted wryly or turned entirely on their heads to cleverly capture the social attitudes of the time.

While most of the slang described here is a natural part of everyday speech, this dictionary doesn’t shy away from pejorative terms that unfortunately lurk around many online (and offline) spaces. After all, learning a language takes more than knowing how to politely ask about the weather: the real world is a whole lot messier than a classroom, and Japanese Slang will help you make sense of this raw language that lives in the wild.

Suggested for mature readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maki Hayasaka
• Release date: Nov 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463539132

Maki Hayasaka

Maki Hayasaka is a sociolinguist and has worked in Japanese studies for nearly two decades. Her focus as a language researcher has been on the relationship between English and Japanese, and how native speakers of one language can best learn the other.

Book preview

Japanese Slang

Maki Hayasaka

First published 2019

Publication © Rockwaller Books 2019

Text © Maki Hayasaka 2019

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Publisher: Rockwaller Books

Editor: Dane Wallace

Proofreader: Aika Shiraishi

Cover design: Emma Grey

Rockwallerbooks.com

@RockwallerBooks

ISBN: 9780463539132

Distributed by Smashwords

License notes

This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting this author’s work.

Acknowledgments

To all my friends who brainstormed words for

this very strange and blush-worthy book.

And to my high school Japanese teacher:

1) Thank you for making me love our language.

2) I’m terribly sorry.

Contents

About This Dictionary

Japanese–English

English–Japanese

Stay in Touch!

Books by Maki Hayasaka

About This Dictionary

Japanese culture is best known for its quiet politeness and strict adherence to tradition. From the proper way to wear a kimono to the manner in which one offers even a simple thank you, there is a strong sense of structure and ritual that seems to be part of every aspect of Japanese society.

And while that is often very true, there are nevertheless many layers to life. We don’t always speak or express ourselves in the grammatically perfect or polite ways that language textbooks like to promote. In fact, the Japanese are particularly fond of playing with language, in large part thanks to the versatility and nuance that their writing systems naturally provide. Very often, this results in clever and playful combinations of kanji, kana, and English, where a conventional phrase is twisted wryly or turned entirely on its head in a way that captures contemporary social attitudes.

As social media and digital messaging platforms have gained an unprecedented level of popularity and engagement across all sectors of our increasingly global society, the changes to language have been rapid, and what would have remained isolated pockets of slang within one community have instead crossed over cultural, linguistic, and national boundaries and reached people they never would have in the earlier days of social media.

Of course, this hasn’t happened without causing a lot of problems.

With the anonymity and social distance that comes with communicating online—from sending tweets and sharing memes to posting comments on video-sharing sites like Niconico Douga and Youtube—has come a rise in many people’s unfortunate confidence to use offensive and derogatory phrases in public spaces. Naturally, racism and sexism are not exclusive to the internet or social media, but these are the places where such language is now most commonly encountered. And that is why this dictionary exists: to help learners of Japanese to better understand the context of what they hear and read, especially in informal spaces where slang is the dominant form of expression. And with this knowledge, perhaps those learners will be more mindful of the language they use and share themselves.

To be honest, this dictionary contains a lot of really awful words. And with it comes a responsibility for the reader to treat this knowledge with maturity. The words we use have consequences: they can anger, disparage, upset, or worse—they can cause all sorts of real harm, and often with alarming ease. We live in an age when the whole world is intimately linked through our personal devices: our words can travel around the globe at the press of a button, with the potential to be read by millions of people. By providing this vocabulary as a resource for learners of Japanese, the intention isn’t to encourage the reader to use these words. A lot of them should never be used by anyone: some are racist, some are sexist, and some are just extremely rude. But they do exist, and I think that being aware of them is more constructive than quietly turning a blind eye or leaving students to parrot words that they read online and think are funny, many of which would raise eyebrows in broader society—if not tempers.

Luckily, not everything is doom and gloom. While some of the slang contained here is derogatory or rude, the rest of it is a normal part of casual Japanese, overflowing with charm, cultural insights and snarky takes on popular culture. These phrases are fascinating, fun, and often extremely eye-opening for students whose exposure to Japanese has been limited to the classroom and to nice, polite grammar books.

The language here is not polite, and you won’t be taught it in a classroom. It’s raw Japanese that lives in the wild, and I hope you find it valuable.

Maki Hayasaka

International Language Study Center

A note on rōmaji spellings:

Half-sized characters (such as the small tsu that is used to indicate a geminate consonant) are represented by a preceding x in irregular Japanese sound patterns (for example, Uxiki for Wiki).

Japanese–English

–––––A–––––

abo–n ・ あぼーん

1) To delete, to disappear, to break.

2) Deleted, an online post that was removed owing to inappropriate content [internet slang].

aburagisshu ・ 脂ギッシュ ・ あぶらギッシュ

1) Oily.

2) Chubby, tubby, plump [slang].

acchikei ・ あっち系 ・ あっちけい

1) One of those, a you-know.

2) Gay, homosexual [sensitivity in usage; often derogatory].

ageage ・ アゲアゲ

1) High spirits, to be elated or excited.

agemizawa ・ あげみざわ

1) High tension, to be elated or excited.

ago de tsukau ・ あごで使う ・ あごでつかう

1) To chatter, to prattle.

2) To order somebody around in an arrogant manner, to gesture with one’s chin.

ahonomikusu ・ アホノミクス

1) Abenomics [so-called idiot economics, named after Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe].

aidoruwota ・ アイドルヲタ

1) Otaku or enthusiast (male) who is obsessed with female idols or performers.

airabuyuu ・ 愛羅武勇 ・ あいらぶゆう

1) I love you.

aisatsu ・ 挨拶 ・ あいさつ

1) Greeting, salutation.

2) Revenge, vengeance, retaliation [slang].

aiueo ・ 愛上男 ・ あいうえお

1) Lover (male) who is skilled in bed.

ajajashita– ・ あじゃじゃしたー

1) Thank you [originating from arigatou gozaimashita].

akabi ・ 赤日 ・ あかび

1) Menstruation, period [literally red day].

Akibakei ・ 秋葉系 ・ あきばけい

1) Akihabara style, a geeky or nerdy appearance.

ama ・ 尼 ・ あま

1) Nun [abbreviation; from amahoushi].

2) Bitch [derogatory/pejorative].

3) Amazon (online retailer) [abbreviation].

Ame ・ アメ

1) American [abbreviation of Amerikajin].

Amekaji ・ アメカジ

1) American casual (fashion style).

Amekasu ・ アメカス

1) American scum [derogatory/pejorative].

Amekomi ・ アメコミ

1) American comic book.

Amekou ・ アメ公 ・ アメこう

1) American person (similar to Yankee) [derogatory/pejorative].

ana ・ 穴 ・ あな

1) Pit (of a theater), orchestra pit.

anakyoudai ・ 穴兄弟 ・ あなきょうだい

1) Men who have had sex with the same woman [vulgar].

anbiri ・ アンビリ

1) Unbelievable [abbreviation of "anbiriibabō"].

anchikome ・ アンチコメ

1) Negative comment on the internet [literally anti-comment].

aniota ・ アニオタ

1) Anime otaku [abbreviation of anime otaku].

anison ・ アニソン

1) An anime song, a song that is created for an anime or is strongly associated with one [abbreviation of anime songu].

anpan ・ 餡パン ・ あんパン

1) Paint thinner that is placed inside a bag and used as an inhalant.

aoba ・ 青歯 ・ あおば

1) Bluetooth [Japanese slang of the English trademark name].

a–pa– ・ アーパー

1) Idiot, fool, stupid person.

apiru ・ アピる

1) To appeal (to somebody else), to try to make a good impression.

arienti– ・ ありえんてぃー

1) Impossible!, an exclamation when something defies common sense.

ari yori no ari ・ あり寄りのあり ・ ありよりのあり

1) Definitely okay, conveys that something is certainly possible.

Asahiru ・ 朝日る ・ あさひる

1) To fabricate something [originated from allegations against the Asahi newspaper for inventing articles].

asamara ・ 朝マラ ・ あさマラ

1) Morning erection [mara is a vulgar term for penis].

ashikoki ・ 足コキ ・ あしコキ

1) Foot job (to stimulate a penis with one’s feet) [vulgar].

ashime ・ アシメ

1) Asymmetry [abbreviation of ashimetori or ashimetorii].

asshi– ・ アッシー

1) Automotive assembly [abbreviation].

2) Man who is specifically used by a woman for his car.

asshi-kun ・ アッシー君 ・ アッシーくん

1) Man who is specifically used by a woman for his car [the honorific -kun makes this version more patronizing than the plain version above].

asupe ・ アスペ

1) Autistic person [abbreviation of Asperger’s syndrome; often used as a derogatory/pejorative term].

a–ta ・ あーた

1) You, dear [slang variant of anta, often used by wives to address their husbands].

atabou ・ あたぼう

1) Obvious, reasonable.

atsushibo ・ アツシボ

1) Hot moistened hand towel.

azassu ・ あざっす

1) Thanks [slang; abbreviation of arigatou gozaimasu].

–––––B–––––

babanuki ・ ババ抜き ・ ババぬき

1) Old Maid (a card game).

2) Living without one’s mother-in-law [baba refers coarsely to old woman].

bacchikoi ・ バッチ来い ・ バッチこい

1) Bring it on!, an expression to convey readiness [often used in sports].

bakadori ・ 馬鹿鳥 ・ ばかどり

1) Albatross [slang for dumb bird].

bakage– ・ バカゲー

1) A video game that is stupid or