Hello everyone, everything good? Watching anime I often see some vulgar words and insults used mainly in anger and other diverse occasions. With that in mind, in this article we will learn more about these words. Let's learn some slang, swear words, insults and vulgarities present in anime.
Swearing in Japanese is one of the most searched for things on the internet, so much so that we already have an article about it. swearing and swearing in japanese. Only this time we will go into detail about these swear words, being more specific, let's talk about the most heard in anime. To help you navigate the article, let's leave a summary below:
Kuso - 糞 - Shit
Kuso means crap or shit. This is one of the most versatile in the language, it can be used in various situations. That word is informal and insulting, but it fits in situations like when you tap your pinky finger on the corner of the couch or when you spill juice all over your new shirt, who knows where you're going to wear it.
The character [糞] of the word kuso literally means bullshit, shit, damn, feces, excrement, dung, damn, stupid, bastard, and the like. There are several variations of words that can slightly change the meaning of the expression. It's one of the most heard insults in anime.
Uzai - ウザイ - Annoying
Uzai literally means annoying or noisy in Japanese. I see this word used a lot when female characters are angry with someone and throw a tantrum. It's common but not the only way to use it.
If we take a look at the word, we will see that it has several ways of being used, which may or may not be used as an insult. And not only this one, but several others also follow this route. And this is the interesting thing about some insults, they derive from common words.
Note: You can also use " uzai " as "shut up". It is likely that this expression is derived from the word urusai that we hear a lot in anime, and which also means shut up or noisy.
Damare – Another word that means shut up. We can classify it as an aggressive word because of its nature. But it does not apply to all cases.
Chikushou - 畜生 - Damn, animal
Chikushou literally means a despicable person. But everyday use is quite different. When used as a sudden interjection, it is similar to kuso! So you can use it in the same way as "drug" or "crap". This is an example of an ambiguous insult.
The word is written with the characters [畜] which means livestock, domestic animal and [生] which means life. In other words, we are literally saying that the person leads an animal life, a despicable life. Variations of this word can mean son of a bitch, incest, unforgivable action and the like.
The article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:
Baka - バカ - Language, donkey
Baka is a very common Japanese word. If you use it on a person, you can use it to say stupid, silly, or idiot. I think it's the best known because I haven't watched an anime where that word isn't mentioned at least 5 times.
However, after hearing this insult in Japanese so much, I even use it daily and I don't realize I'm using it, I only notice it after the fact. It's simple, fast and easy and very useful, what's not to use?
Bakayarou – There is not much difference when analyzed superficially, but there is a marked difference between Bakayarou and Baka. When using Bakayarou, it doesn't just mean idiot, but a complete idiot.
To explain better we can say that this is an upgrade of Baka. Or rather, something far beyond a “normal” idiot. I don't think I have a better explanation for this, and I ended up remembering that the easy things are the hardest to explain.
Aho - 阿呆 - Idiot
Well, the Japanese language definitely has a lot of ways to call someone stupid. Aho means Idiot, senile, simpleton, or mentally slow. Aho is similar to Baka, despite using different ideograms. The main difference is that aho is often used in the kansai region while baka is used in other central regions and in the north such as Tokyo.
Not one of the best ways to be insulted. I don't think anyone likes to be compared to a senile person. But nobody likes to be insulted, which is why it's called an insult. Divergences always occur and it is good to always be prepared for these times.
Yatsu - 奴 - Dude
The Japanese language has a lot of secrets and mysteries, and some of them form into subtle things like this insult. Yatsu just means "guy", but it carries a lot of negative air. So while you're not insulting them, you're putting them at levels below you, referring to them as that (Yatsu can be used to refer to things).
To explain better, we can make an analogy to the “muleque” here in Brazil, if we are going to research it just means boy, but it is also a way of demeaning other people. For this reason it is good to be careful with the translations that are made, they can leave you in a big misunderstanding.
Fuzakeru na - ふざけるな - Don't play!
Fuzakeru means to play and the particle is used to negate the word. In other words, don't play with me! When used aggressively, this used to warn, intimidate, warn, or threaten others.
It may not be an explicit insult, but the reference is implied in the meaning and manner in which it was used. And for this reason I like to classify it as an aggressive word. How not to be an aggressive word when someone intimidates you like that?
The word fuzakeru [巫山戯る] literally means to play in the sense of tricking, making fun of, laughing at something, playing a joke on someone. It is composed with the characters [巫] which means sorcerer, [山] which means mountain and [戯] which means to play and play.
Shinee - 死ねえ - Die!
Literally die! It doesn't need much explanation for this one, because the word itself says it all. I often see it used right after the cliché of the protagonist seeing girls' panties or walking into the bedroom when they're naked. But not just in these situations.
Debu - デブ - Fat
This word literally means fat or chubby, and can be or not an insult. Other ways to say fat in Japanese are futoi [太い]; marumaru [丸々] which gives the idea of round, chubby; and chuubutori [中太り] which literally means overweight.
It fits perfectly to describe the protagonist of accel world, being the best known Debu of anime, and also the luckiest Debu of all because I got what many dreamed of getting. Here's the tip to watch, it's also worth reading the light novel since there's no prediction of a second season.
Hentai - 変態 - Perverted
Speaking in classic words, this one means sexually perverted. Its use is very common, and here is the tip not to confuse it with the adult genre of anime. You have to pay attention to context. To delve deeper into the subject we wrote an article below explaining why in the West Hentai is used to refer to adult content in anime.
Nanda - なんだ - What the hell?
What the hell? I would classify it as an aggressive question, if such a denomination exists. But it's also common to see this question in anime, I think it's used more than the more formal words. It is also accompanied by others to add more emphasis to sentences or even ask other questions.
An example is “Nanda yo omae-wa?” which means "Who the hell do you think you are?". But it also has other forms.
Temee - 手前 - You!
To rescue the discussion of words to be careful when translating, this is an example of them and is a warning for those who think it's no big deal. Literally it can just mean "you", but in practice it's a different story. This “you” is used as an insult, but I don't have an analogy that I can make to better explain it.
The word temee is written with the characters [手前] which means hand and front, thus indicating the person in front of me. It is mainly used by men and has a very vulgar and aggressive tone.
Other slang and profanity in anime?
That's all for this article. There are several other insults, aggressive words and the like that are not on this list. I tried to put only the most popular and well-known, for that I used my experience with anime to remember all the ones I had heard before, and with that I made the selection that I presented.
I believe that this topic has its controversies, but not everything in life is flowers and every language has its bad words as a garden has its weeds. But if you have any suggestions, doubts, criticisms or others, just leave your comment. Furthermore, thank you, my dear reader, for reading this article this far. See you in the next one!
