Japanese culture is known for its emphasis on politeness and respect which is reflected in their language that has few profanities. Still, few doesn’t mean none, so here are 35 Japanese bad words, insults, and curse words to steer clear off to avoid offending or disrespecting others in Japanese.
Table of Contents
- Not Using the Right Form of Speech is Rude in Japanese Culture
- Japanese Bad Words, Swear Words and Rude Words to Avoid Using
- Japanese Insults that Depend on Context
- To Close
Not Using the Right Form of Speech is Rude in Japanese Culture
Using the correct form of speech is very important in Japanese language and culture. It shows respect to whomever you are speaking to. The basic form of polite speech is ending sentences with -desu (です) and -masu (ます), but there are also more complex speech forms with specific terms, i.e. Keigo (敬語) - Japanese honourific speech.
Further, there are grammar forms that when used with a superior, stranger, or someone to be respected is considered rude. I am talking about the “Command Form (命令形 meirei-kei)”. For example:
- Eat : 食べる taberu → 食べる tabero
- Drink : 飲む nomu → 飲め nome
- Come : 来る kuru → 来い koi
As its name suggests, the “Command Form” is exactly that, a command to do something. It is only to be used by persons of authority, like a teacher to students, or a boss to underlings. Still, considering how “rude” it is, many people choose to not use it. The exception is for dangerous situations to show urgency, for example “run away!! - 逃げろ nigero!!” when danger is fast coming and everyone should run for it, or “stop!! - やめろ yamero!!” to stop someone from pressing a doomsday button.
Writer's Pick
Japanese Bad Words, Swear Words and Rude Words to Avoid Using
Swearing and calling someone names is frowned upon in any culture. You may have heard them or picked them up from anime or Japanese drama without knowing what they mean!! And maybe even unintentionally used them!
In this part, we introduce some Japanese bad words, swear words, and downright rude words that you should definitely avoid using when speaking Japanese.
1. Yatsu / 奴（やつ）
“Yatsu” is a rude way to refer to someone, meaning “he”, “she”, “it”, “fellow”, “chap”, or “guy”. It can also be used to refer to items and objects, not rudely but certainly informal. Between close friends, using “yatsu” may be acceptable but unless you are sure it will be well-accepted, it is best to avoid using this term. Stick to safer and polite terms like “kare / 彼 / him”, “kanojo / 彼女 / her”, “ano hito / あの人 / that person”, or the best by the person’s name with suffix -san “〇〇-san / 〇〇さん”.
2. Temee / 手前 （てめえ）
“Temee” is most definitely rude. It is commonly heard in anime, usually said by angry characters at an enemy, and dripping with hostility. “Temee” means “you” in a rude way. Never use it unless you are planning on starting a fight.
3. Kisama / 貴様 (きさま)
“Kisama” is another derogatory term for “you”, “you bastard”, or “you son of a b*tch”, and is ruder than “temee”. The ironic thing about “Kisama” is that the Kanji is honorific language - 貴 Ki meaning “your” and indicative of high status, 様 Sama is a polite suffix showing higher respect than -San (〇〇さん). Kisama is a very rude way to refer to someone, made even worse by the sarcastic usage of honorific Kanji.
4. 〇〇 Yarou / 〇〇野郎（やろう）
“Yarou” can be a stand-alone swear word, but is also often paired with other words to form “stronger” swears. “Yarou” is a swear word meaning “bastard”. Common variations are “kuso-yarou くそ野郎 (shitty bastard)”, “baka-yarou 馬鹿野郎 (goddamn idiot / nimwit / moron)”, “kono yarou この野郎 (this bastard / this jerk)”, etc.
5. Baka / 馬鹿（ばか）
“Baka” means “stupid”, “fool”, “moron”, or “idiot”, and is a Japanese insult for mocking someone’s intelligence or behaviour. It is one of the most picked-up words by anime fans, some people finding it cute when said by adorable female characters, but it’s not so cute to use in real life.
6. Aho / 阿呆（あほ）
“Aho” is another Japanese insult that means “stupid”, “fool”, “idiot”, or “simpleton”. It is a phrase from the Kansai dialect, and carries the same meaning as “Baka”.
7. Manuke / 間抜け（まぬけ）
“Manuke” can be used as an adjective to describe someone as being “stupid”, “foolish”, or “idiotic”, and can also be used to call someone a “fool”, “idiot”, or “blockhead”. “間抜け面 Manukezura” is used to describe someone as having a “stupid look on his/her face”. Needless to say, it is not nice to call or describe someone as Manuke.
8. Gaki / 餓鬼（がき）
“Gaki” means “child” or “kid”, but is usually used in an insulting manner to describe kids or even young adults as being immature, disrespectful, annoying, or mischievous, as in “brats”. A common variation of Gaki is “kuso-gaki くそがき” meaning “shitty brat / shitty kid”.
9. Kasu / かす
“Kasu” means “dregs”, “leftovers”, “scum”, etc. So, describing or calling someone “Kasu” is deeply insulting as you are basically saying they are “trash of society” or “dregs of society”.
10. Jijii / じじい
“Jijii” is a rude way to call an elderly male person by. The correct term should be “Ojisan (おじさん)” meaning “uncle” or “mister”. It is even more offensive if you call a young man by Jijii, implying that he looks old for his age.
11. Babaa / ばばあ
“Babaa” is the female equivalent of Jijii, it is a rude way to call an elderly female person. The correct term should be “Obasan (おばさん)” meaning “aunt” or “madam”. Likewise with Jijii, calling a lady “Babaa” is sure to make her angry.
12. Koshinuke / 腰抜け（こしぬけ）
A Japanese insult to call someone a “coward” or a “chicken”. Is used to put down someone or mock them for being afraid or timid. Commonly seen in bully scenes in anime and Japanese drama when bullies force their victims to do something dangerous and unpleasant, and name-calling them when they are scared or refuse to do so.
13. Kuso / くそ
“Kuso” is a Japanese swear word, a vulgar profanity that is translated to “shit” or “crap” in English. It is often used as an expression of frustration, anger, or disappointment than a word to curse at someone. Kuso is commonly attached to other Japanese bad words to form variations, like “kuso-gaki”, “kuso-yarou”, and “kuso-busu”.
14. Chikushou / 畜生（ちくしょう）
“Chikushou” is the closest Japanese swear word to “f*ck" and "damn it" in English. It is a stronger form of expression for strong negative feelings than “Kuso”, also meaning “shit” or “crap”.
15. Kutabare / くたばれ
A vulgar expression that means “drop dead!”, “go to hell!”, “f*ck you!”, or “shove it!”. It is a very strong and offensive Japanese swear word and should be avoided at all times.
16. Damare / 黙れ（だまれ）・Urusai / うるさい
There are 2 ways to say “Shut up!” in Japanese, they are “damare" and “urusai”. “Damare (黙れ)” is the command word form of “damaru (黙る)” which means “to be silent” or “to say nothing”. As we mentioned above, incorrect usage of the Command Form may make things rude, and ordering someone to “damare” is one of those examples. “Urusai (うるさい)” is an i-adjective meaning “noisy”, “loud”, “annoying”, etc. but can also be a Japanese phrase asking someone to “shut up” or “be quiet”.
17. Uzai / うざい・Usse / うっせえ・Uzee / うぜえ
“Usse” and “Uzee” are just variations of saying “Uzai”, meaning “annoying” or “noisy”. Urusai above, can also be used as an insult in the same way, to insult someone by calling them annoying or noisy. Dragging out the “se” from “Usse”, and the “zee” from “Uzee” is a way to show how irritated you are at someone.
The better, not rude way to call out on people being noisy is “音が大きい ですね / oto ga ookii desune”, “騒がしいですね / sawagashii desune”, or “にぎやかですね nigiyaka desune”.
18. Doke / どけ
“Move!” “Get out of the way!” is the translation of “Doke” which is a rude way of asking someone to “Excuse me, please step aside.” Saying “Doke”, you might as well have just shoved someone out of your way. “Doke” is the command form of “dokeru (退ける)” which means “to move (something, someone).
If you want to get through, try saying politely “すみません / sumimasen” and do a hand signal that you’d like to past through. When wanting to get off a packed train, say “すみません、降ります。/ sumimasen, orimasu” that translates to “Excuse me, I’m getting off.”
19. Atama ga Okashii / 頭がおかしい
頭 Atama means “head” or “mind”, and おかしい Okashii means “strange”, “weird”, or “unusual”.
Together, “atama ga okashii” means “insane”, “crazy”, “nuts”, or “out of one’s mind”. “頭がおかしいのか？/ atama okashii no ka?” is one sarcastic way of asking someone “Are you insane?” and should not be used, no matter how crazy that person really is…
20. Busu / ぶす
“Busu” is a horrible Japanese insult that translates to mean “ugly” or “ugly woman”. It is a fairly strong insult and is rude to use. Using “busu” is a direct attack on someone’s appearance, and can be quite hurtful.
21. Debu/ でぶ
“Debu” is another Japanese insult that attacks someone’s physical appearance. “Debu” can be an adjective that means “fat” or “chubby”, or a noun meaning “fat person”, “fatty”, or “fatso”.
22. Shinee / 死ねえ ・ Shinjae / 死んじゃえ
“Shinee” means “go to hell” or “die!”. This Japanese insult or curse word is self-explanatory, just avoid using it as it is quite a strong insult and curse.
Japanese Insults that Depend on Context
In the above, we’ve covered Japanese insults, bad words, and curse words that cannot be mistaken for anything else. In this part, we introduce words and phrases that are not necessarily considered as bad words or insults, but can be deeply insulting and mocking depending on the context used.
23. Nakimushi / 泣き虫（なきむし）
”Nakimushi” is Japanese for “crybaby”. In and of itself, “Nakimushi” is not considered a bad word or insult. At times, even used endearingly, for example “what a crybaby” said fondly while comforting a child, or to a girl in shoujo manga scenes. But, when used to mock someone who is sensitive and prone to crying, it is a mean insult.
24. Kimoi / キモイ
“Kimoi” means “gross” or “disgusting” in Japanese. It is an expression used when encountering something gross or disturbing, for example when coming across a mukade (giant Japanese centipede), one can’t help but scream “いやあああ、キモイ！！” in disgust. Needless to say, saying that someone is “Kimoi” is a fairly strong Japanese insult and is incredibly hurtful.
25. Otaku / オタク
“Otaku” is a Japanese term used to describe someone who has a strong interest and enthusiasm for a particular subject or hobby, such as anime, manga, video games, trains, etc. Otaku culture is part of Japanese pop culture, and is not necessarily a bad thing. However, “otaku” has been used to label people that are socially awkward, have difficulty interacting with others, and are deeply engrossed in their hobbies. These people called “otaku” are considered lame and the “otaku” term carries a negative meaning of being a “geek” or “nerd”, so be careful not to call people “otaku” as it can be taken as an insult.
26. Hetakuso / 下手くそ（へたくそ）
“Heta 下手” means “unskilled”, “poor (at doing something”, or “awkward (at doing something)”. For example, “I am poor in Japanese. / 日本語が下手です。/ nihongo ga heta desu.”. The opposite of “heta (下手)” is “jouzu (上手)”, as in “日本語お上手ですね。/ nihongo ojouzu desune. / Your Japanese is really good”.
“Kuso”, we have covered above, meaning “shitty” or “crap”. Combining both to form “hetakuso” means “really crap (at doing something)” or “really shit (at doing something)”. It is not necessarily a bad word as it is common to talk about yourself as being “hetakuso” at doing something. However, it can be rude and a strong insult if used to describe someone else being “really shit / crap” at doing a task or activity.
It is quite alright to use between close friends, for example when playing a game together, you may comment how “absolutely shit” he is at it. So, context is really important when using “hetakuso”, be careful not to accidentally offend someone.
27. Kechi / けち
“Kechi” carries many different meanings - “stingy”, “cheap”, “narrow-minded”, or “petty”. It is not necessarily a bad word and is commonly used to describe someone, but “Kechi” is rarely said directly to someone unless meant as an insult and criticism of their behaviour or character.
28. Chibi / チビ
You may know “chibi” as a style of drawing cute big-eyed small-bodied characters. Chibi versions of popular anime & manga characters are popular in Japan. However, chibi can also be used as an insult to mock someone for being small for their size. This is especially so when someone is self-conscious about their height or size. Calling them “chibi” would just be rubbing salt in the wound. You may mean it as a compliment that they are small and cute, but it is easily taken the wrong way.
29. Kusai / 臭い
“Kusai” means “smelly” or “stinky”, for example “ゴミは臭いです。/ gomi wa kusai desu. / Rubbish is smelly”. It is also commonly used as an exclamation when encountering something smelly like so, “臭い！ / Kusai!”. Needless to say, it is not nice to call out or exclaim that someone stinks.
30. Tsukaenai / 使えない（つかえない）
“Tsukaenai” is the negative form of “Tsukau (使う)” and means “cannot be used”, “useless” or “good for nothing”. It is often used to describe things that are broken or not functioning properly、 for example “このパソコンは壊れているので、もう使えないです。/ kono pasokon ha kowareteiru node, mou tsukaenai desu.” which translates to “This computer is broken, it can no longer be used.”
When used to describe a person, it is extremely rude and downright insulting. “Tsukaenai Yatsu 使えないやつ” is a demeaning term that means “useless person”.
31. Meiwaku / 迷惑（めいわく）
“Meiwaku” means “trouble”, “inconvenience”, or “annoyance”. The most common phrase that includes “Meiwaku” is, “ご迷惑をおかけして申し訳ございません。/ gomeiwaku o kakeshite moushiwakegozaimasen” which is a formal apology for being an inconvenience or for disturbing. In Japan, “meiwaku” is mostly used as a warning to not trouble others or, like we just mentioned, to apologise. Calling someone “meiwaku” or describing someone as “meiwaku”, is very insulting and hurtful to the person.
32. Mendokusai / めんどくさい
“Mendokusai” is a Japanese term that can be translated to “troublesome”, “bothersome”, or “annoying”. We covered it in our <15 Common Anime Phrases that You Can Use in Real Life> article as a commonly said phrase by Shikamaru from Naruto.
It is often used to express the feeling of not wanting to do something because it is too much of an effort or hassle. For example, if someone asks you for a favour that you don’t really want to do, you might response with “mendokusai na (めんどくさいな)” to express reluctance. In business settings and professional relationships, answering this way is seen as incredibly rude and dismissive.
Additionally, you should never ever describe someone as being “mendokusai” which is incredibly hurtful and insulting to the person.
33. Hage / はげ
“Hage” means “bald”. As a Japanese insult, it is used to ridicule someone who is bald or whose hair is thinning, but can also carry the meaning of “stupid”. Mocking someone for their appearance is generally frowned upon.
34. Doji / どじ
“Doji” means “clumsy” in Japanese and is used to describe someone who frequently makes mistakes or is prone to tripping and stumbling. It can also be used as an insult to mock or ridicule someone when said in a disparaging tone, so be careful when using it.
35. Boke / ぼけ
“Boke” has many meanings. It can be a Japanese insult that means “fool” or “idiot”, but can also mean “senile”, “feeling sluggish (from something)”, and “feeling out of it”. When used inappropriately, it can be a bad insult. Additionally, it can also be an ageist slur when directed at an elderly person calling them “senile”. Be very careful when using this word.
To Close
We have covered 35 Japanese bad words including some that are insults depending on context. As you can see, though the Japanese language does not have as many outright curses and swears as in English, there are still quite a few landmines to navigate in order to not offend someone. We hope that this article helps you avoid creating offence when learning the Japanese language, and that we did not inadvertently teach you how to insult people… In any case, learning Japanese with bad words sounds pretty fun, doesn’t it?
