63 Must-Know Japanese Slang Words (to Sound like a Local)

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Ready to enter the crazy world of Japanese slang?

Before you do, here’s my disclaimer: some of these Japanese slang words are NSFW. They’re also not to be used lightly in every conversation, but to be used appropriately with close friends and peers.

Japanese slang is often underrepresented in textbooks, and it can date quickly. It also overlaps with ordinary casual speech, regional language and older internet culture, so the labels matter. The list below points out those differences where they come up. Knowing these words will help you follow casual conversations, but using them naturally still depends on who you’re talking to and the setting.

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Everyday Japanese Slang

Most Japanese slang is used for descriptions, greetings, and outbursts of emotion. Unlike English, there aren’t too many slang terms to call other people (at least not ones that are nice to say). You won’t really find a translation for “dude,” for instance. To be slangy with nicknames, you would typically shorten someone’s name and add a cute honorific (or omit the honorific altogether).

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.

But these slang words can be heard everyday around Japan, especially among the younger generation. 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.

A 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. 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.

Anyway, with all that in mind, here are some Japanese slang words to get you started:

やばい (yabai)

やばい can mean… anything. It covers everything from “terrible”, “ridiculous”, and “crappy” to “amazing” and “awesome.” Its literal meaning is “dangerous,” but is used like “wicked” in English. It could be both good and bad.

This one is incredibly common in everyday speech all around Japan. You’ll also hear it shortened to ヤバ (yaba) often, especially by men.

ウザい (uzai)

ウザい is the shortened form of うざったい (uzattai). It means “annoying,” “bothersome,” or “what a pain,” and is used to express frustration with a person or situation.

キモい (kimoi)

This one is short for 気持ち悪い (kimochi warui), which can describe feeling physically sick or finding something unpleasant or repulsive.

As for キモい, it means ‘gross’, ‘disgusting’ or ‘ew’. You can use it as an exclamation like ‘Ew!’ or say キモいね (kimoi ne) to say ‘Disgusting, right?’

イケメン (ikemen)

イケメン is used to describe a good-looking or handsome man.

It’s often used to talk about celebrities, but any man can be regarded as イケメン. It combines イケてる (iketeru, “cool” or “good-looking”) with メン, a play on 面 (men, “face”) and the English word “men.”

マジ (maji)

マジ or マジで (maji de) is used as an exclamation of “Seriously?!” or “For real?!” It comes from the word 真面目 (majime) which means “serious.”

リア充 (riajuu)

リア充 is a sometimes ironic label for someone who seems fulfilled by their offline life, social circle or relationships. It combines リアル (riaru, ‘real world’) and 充実 (juujitsu, ‘fulfilment’). It isn’t simply the opposite of オタク, and it doesn’t say that someone depends on an online persona.

オッス！ (ossu!)

If you want a greeting closest to “What’s up, dude?” or “Yo, man!”… Well, this is it. It’s a shortened form of the greeting おはようございます (Ohayou gozaimasu, “Good morning”). It’s kind of like surfer-speak, and it’s used by guys to greet each other.

半端ない (hanpa nai)

This one is used the same way やばい is. It means “insane,” “kickass,” “awesome,” or “outrageous.” The word hanpa itself means “halfway” or “unfinished.” Since it’s used in its negative form with nai, you’re saying something’s “not half-assed, it’s whole-assed.” And therefore, it’s amazing.

ムカつく (mukatsuku)

ムカつく is a long-standing colloquial verb for feeling irritated, annoyed or sick to your stomach. It’s related to ムカムカする (mukamuka suru), but the claim that つく comes from 作る is not reliable.

それな！(sore na!)

This means, “That!” or “Exactly!” It’s used like English slang when we agree with something someone said, and we simply reply with “This!” Meaning, we were thinking the same thing and 100% agree.

おつ (otsu)

Short for お疲れ様でした (otsukaresama deshita), meaning “you worked hard” or “good job.” You can use it as a slangy goodbye.

ガチ (gachi)

Used the same way as マジ, it means “seriously” or “for real.”

さいてい (saitei)

This translates as “the lowest.” But as a slang term, it’s used to call someone or a situation “the worst!”

ずるい (zurui)

This one means “sly” or “sneaky,” but it can also be used as an exclamation like “You suck!” It expresses both disgust and admiration for someone’s sneaky behavior. Think Ferris Bueller’s Day Off — you’re a bit dismayed at his bad behavior, but also impressed he went through with it.

微妙 (bimyou)

Bimyou means “questionable,” “iffy,” or even “kind of sucks.” It’s somewhere between まあまあ (maa maa, “so-so”) and まずい (mazui, “disgusting”) or ひどい (hidoi, “awful”).

ウケる (ukeru)

It means “that’s funny” or “hilarious.” It’s actually a verb, but it’s used more like “haha!” in English.

Regional Japanese Slang

Tokyo-Ben Slang

Tokyo-ben is what you hear most in the Japanese media, such as on TV, because it’s considered “standard” dialect. Even so, Tokyo is like New York — people from around the country move there, and their slang gets blended together. The Tokyo region does have some slang used most often in that area, though. Here are a few:

• 超 (chou): Very, totally. Used like とても (totemo).
• すげー (suge-): Amazing. It’s the shortened, more masculine form of すごい (sugoi).
• はずい (hazui): Embarrassing. Short for 恥ずかしい (hazukashii).
• むずい (muzui): Difficult. Short for 難しい (muzukashii)
• うそ！ (uso!): No way! You’re lying!

Kansai-Ben Slang

When most people think of Kansai-ben, they think of Osaka, although it includes all the Kansai region. It sounds more harsh than standard Japanese, because it uses more blunt endings like ya nen, na, and hen. At the same time, it’s more casual and flowing because words become shortened. Here are a few you should know from the region:

• めっちゃ (meccha): The same as 超 and とても, it means “very.”
• あほ (aho): Idiot.
• おおきに (ookini): Thank you.
• ほんま (honma): Really?
• あかん (akan): Bad, not good
• なんやこれ / なんでやねん (nan ya kore / nande ya nen): What’s this?! What the heck?!
• おもろい (omoroi): Interesting, amusing, funny
• ちゃうで! (chau de!): It’s not like that! That’s wrong!
• しんどい (shindoi): Tired, exhausted

Japanese Text and Internet Slang

Ah, Japanese text and internet slang. This is where things get really interesting and slightly confusing, fast. When it comes to Japanese text lingo, there’s a lot of combining English letters and Japanese characters into shorthand that makes no sense upon first glance. But knowing these will help you immerse yourself in the language online, and understand what you’re reading on Twitter.

KY

KY is an abbreviation for 空気読めない, which romanized reading “kuuki yomenai.” Thus, it became KY, written in English characters. It means someone “can’t read the air” or is oblivious to the mood of the room or another person.

なう (nau)

なう means exactly what it sounds like: “now.” It’s used online to say what someone is doing at that moment, especially on Twitter. An example: ランチなう (ranchi nau). “Eating lunch now.”

ファボる (faboru)

This meant ‘to favourite’ a post on Twitter. It became dated after Twitter replaced favourites with likes in 2015, and いいねする (iine suru) is the current everyday wording.

かまちょ (kamacho)

This is short for 構ってちょうだい (kamatte choudai), which means something like “Please let me know (if we can hang out)”. As a slang term, it’s posted online as a way to say “I’m bored, let’s chat” or “Talk to me.”

W

Yes, just “w.” It’s the Japanese equivalent of “lol” in English text slang. Why “w?” Because the word for “laugh” is 笑い (warai), so it starts with “w.” If you wanted to say “haha” though, you’d use the kanji itself, usually in parenthesis. Like this: (笑)

ぐぐる (Guguru)

Like in English, ‘Google’ has become a verb. To say you’re ‘googling it’, you use ぐぐる in Japanese. You may also come across the old text shorthand GGRKS, from ググれカス (gugure kasu), a hostile way to say ‘Google it yourself’. It belongs to an older era of Japanese internet culture, so recognise it rather than copying it.

ドンマイ (donmai)

This phrase comes from English “don’t mind” and means “Don’t worry about it.” It is used to encourage someone who feels down after a mistake or setback.

KWSK

Another common shorthand, it means “I need the details!” or “Details, please!” It comes from the Japanese phrase 詳しく (kuwashiku), so it’s the first letter of each syllable when romanized. It’s used to beg someone for all the deets.

WKTK

WKTK abbreviates ワクワクテカテカ (wakuwaku tekateka), an exaggerated way to show excitement and anticipation. It was common on older Japanese message boards, but now reads as dated internet slang.

乙

乙 is read おつ (otsu) and is used online as shorthand for お疲れ様 or お疲れ様でした. It can acknowledge someone’s effort or thank them for posting something useful. The character itself does not mean ‘moth’.

555

Another one based on how it sounds read aloud in Japanese. The number 5 in Japanese is ご (go). So when writing 555, you’re saying “Go, go, go!” It’s used in online gaming primarily. But it’s not the only number you’ll see pop up as internet slang! 888 is also used because it’s read はちはちはち (hachi hachi hachi), which is the onomatopoeia sound for clapping.

こｎ / んｐ / うｐ(kon / np / up)

こｎ is an old chat shorthand for こんばんは (‘good evening’). The final Latin n reflects fast IME typing before it is converted to ん. You may still see it in games or livestream chats.

As for the other two, んｐ is the same as English “np” which means “no problem.” And うp is short for “upload.”

Japanese Slang Insults

Use these words with care. Some can be joking between close friends, but the same word can sound aggressive or insulting when the relationship and setting change.

• ばか (baka): Idiot.
• ダサい (dasai): Lame, out of style, dorky, or sucky.
• お前 (omae): A context-sensitive way to say ‘you’. It can sound rude, confrontational or intimate depending on the relationship and tone, and its historical origin does not literally mean that the listener is a thing in front of you.
• われ (ware): The same as お前, but more common in Kansai-ben.
• やつ (yatsu): Like calling someone “guy” or “bloke.” It can be used casually between friends, but it’s also a bit insulting because it’s something you don’t have much respect for and think of as “lower” than you.
• ぶす (busu): An ugly woman. It’s kind of used like “bitch” in English.
• 悪ガキ (warugaki): Brat.

Japanese Swear Words

In case you feel the need to let out a curse under your breath, you can do so in Japanese. Again, use caution with these. While くそ is quite common in Japanese, none of these words are safe to throw around lightly.

くそ (kuso)

This is your most common, versatile curse word in Japanese. It means “shit,” “fuck,” or “dammit,” like how all of those can be interchangeable in English. It’s common to hear this one muttered under someone’s breath.

死ね! (shi’ne!)

This means “Die!” or “Go to hell!” It’s one that you’ve probably heard in Naruto and other shonen anime and manga.

ファック (fakku)

Exactly what it sounds like: “fuck.” Imported straight into the language from English.

くそったれ (kusottare)

One of the strongest curse words in Japanese. It’s an insult used to call someone an “MF’er” or “shithead.”

ちくしょう (chikushou)

“Son of a bitch” in Japanese, although it can also be used as an exclamation of “Dammit!” The literal translation is a “beast” or a “brute.”

Japanese Slang Phrases

Last up, here are some general slang phrases that you’ll hear and see online.

• こんちは (konchiwa): A short form of こんにちは, “hello.”
• 調子どう? (choushi dou?): “How are you?” or “How’s it going?”
• 一足す一は？ (Ichi tasu ichi wa?): “One plus one equals?” It’s used in place of “Say cheese!” when taking a picture, and the response is “に！” (ni!) in Japanese.
• 一杯どう (ippai dou?): A slang way to ask someone if they want to grab a drink. “How about one?”
• とりあえずビール (toriaezu bi-ru): “A beer for now.” It’s such a common thing to say, it’s become a set phrase in Japanese.
• 誰得 (daretoku): It more or less means “Who gets something from this?” or “Why do this?” It’s used like the internet slang, “Y tho?” in English.
• 相変わらず (aikawarazu): This is standard vocabulary rather than slang. It means ‘as usual’ or ‘as ever’, and it is not a general ‘so-so’ response to ‘How are you?’
• わりいーね (warii-ne): “My bad.” You can say this instead of ごめん (gomen).

Now it’s Your Turn to Share Japanese Slang!

Did I miss any Japanese slang or other cool Japanese phrases you’ve heard or used? Share it with me in the comments!

If you want to hear more casual speech and slang in context, check out JapanesePod101.