The Meaning of warui [悪] In Japanese

悪
わるい
Romaji: warui N5

What does 悪 mean?

Translation and Meaning

bad, evil, wrong

Definition

What does 悪 (warui) mean? It denotes moral or qualitative negativity — a concept applied to actions, qualities, conditions, or intentions judged harmful, undesirable, or morally wrong by speakers.

Type

Adjective (i-adjective, い形容詞) and noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • 1. Moral wrongdoing or evil as a noun, referring to harmful intentions or actions distinct from legal guilt.
  • 2. Poor quality or unfavorable condition when describing objects, situations, or performance.
  • 3. Physical illness or feeling unwell in casual contexts referring to health or sensation.
  • 4. Regret or an unfortunate turn of events used to express that something is regrettable or undesirable.
  • 5. A bound element in compounds giving the sense of “mal-“, “vice-” or negative polarity to nouns.

Etymology

悪: the Sino-Japanese on reading aku derives from a Middle Chinese pronunciation reconstructed as *ʔak/*ngak, while the native kun reading waru- represents an Old Japanese adjectival stem; the character entered Japanese via phonetic borrowing from Chinese while native grammar produced the adjective forms.

Origin

The idea and written form arrived with Chinese characters and continental thought during the early historic period; it appears in classical Chinese texts and Buddhist/Confucian literature that shaped Japanese moral vocabulary, and was adopted into Japanese writing and speech from the classical era onward.

Composition

The character 悪 historically combines an upper phonetic element (classically 亞/亜) and a lower semantic element meaning heart (心 in older forms), so the written composition evokes a corrupted or harmful disposition—hence the semantic field around badness and ill will.

Usage

Used across registers: as an ordinary adjective in everyday speech to mark something as bad, as a noun in moral or philosophical discussion about evil, and widely inside compound words to express negative qualities; casual conversations favor the native adjectival forms while formal writing or compounds often use Sino-Japanese elements.
💡 Tips
Visualize a heart (心) under a strange mark on top — a “bad heart” — to recall that 悪 (warui) relates to moral or inner negativity.

Variations

  • 良い (yoi) — good (antonym)
  • 善 (zen) — virtue, goodness (antonym)
  • 邪悪 (jaaku) — extreme wickedness, evil (synonym with stronger nuance)
  • 悪人 (akunin) — evil person (derived noun)

Example Phrases

  • 会議で 発言を 忘れてしまい、 みんなの前で 決まり悪い。
    Kaigi de hatsugen o wasurete shimai, minna no mae de kimariwarui.
    I forgot my speech at the meeting and felt awkward in front of everyone.
    Lista:
    • 会議で (kaigi de) – at a meeting
    • 発言を (hatsugen o) – a remark
    • 忘れてしまい (wasurete shimai) – forgot and
    • みんなの前で (minna no mae de) – in front of everyone
    • 決まり悪い (kimariwarui) – awkward
    「決まり悪い」は、社交の場で恥ずかしく感じる状態を表す形容詞。
  • 今日は 天気が悪いので 「コート」 を 着て 出かけた。
    Kyou wa tenki ga warui node 「kōto」 o kite dekaketa.
    Because the weather is bad today, I wore a coat and went out.
    Lista:
    • 今日は (Kyou wa) – today
    • 天気が悪いので (tenki ga warui node) – because the weather is bad
    • 「コート」 (「kōto」) – coat
    • を (wo) – object marker
    • 着て (kite) – wearing
    • 出かけた (dekaketa) – went out
    Uses ので to express a reason; 「コート」 is the loanword for coat used as the object of 着て.
  • 悪魔 を 見たら 私は ちょっと 怖い
    akuma o mitara watashi wa chotto kowai
    If I see a demon, I am a little scared.
    Lista:
    • 悪魔 (akuma) – demon
    • を (o) – object marker
    • 見たら (mitara) – if/when you see
    • 私は (watashi wa) – I (topic)
    • ちょっと (chotto) – a little
    • 怖い (kowai) – scary
    The target word is the noun meaning demon; in this sentence it is the object marked by を: 「悪魔」.
  • 今朝、彼女は私に意地悪を言った。
    Kesa, kanojo wa watashi ni ijiwaru o itta.
    This morning, she said something mean to me.
    Lista:
    • 今朝 (kesa) – this morning
    • 彼女は (kanojo wa) – she (topic)
    • 私に (watashi ni) – to me
    • 意地悪を (ijiwaru o) – a mean thing
    • 言った (itta) – said
    In this sentence, 「意地悪」 means ‘mean/spiteful’; it is a noun used with を to indicate the thing said, as in 「意地悪を言う」 meaning ‘to say something mean’.
悪