A very popular slang we hear in Japan is YABAI [やばい]. This word can mean something good or bad depending on its use and context, which causes great confusion and curiosity among Japanese students. In this article, we will understand a bit of the meaning of this word and see some example sentences.
Firstly, the word YABAI [やばい] means something dangerous, inconvenient, risky, and terrible, that is, an adjective that shows that something bad is happening. The problem is that this same word is slang used to indicate something great, surprising, and cool. But how can a word also mean its opposite?
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Is Yabai something good or bad?
It is difficult to understand how the word YABAI [やばい] ended up gaining this opposite meaning. Throughout the history of various languages, young people end up inventing slang that gains meanings or are used in completely unrelated moments.
All languages have words and slang that stray quite a bit from their original meaning. Often these words are used to talk about something cool or bad. Can you think of any in your language?
Similarly, YABAI [やばい] is used in a way that cannot express a logical meaning and can be used on different occasions to show that one is impressed or surprised.
The word やばい can be understood by context, just like most Japanese words that, when heard in isolation, can cause confusion. It makes as much sense as calling our beloved friends idiots and dumb and calling strangers bro.
We recommend reading: Slang in Japanese – Guide with the most used in Japan
The slang YABAI used by young people
Before we understand more about the meaning of this word, we must understand where it fits. Yabai is a slang known as WAKAMONOKOTOBA [若者言葉] which literally means words of youth.
These are slang used mainly by teenagers around 20 years old, rarely used in other generations or that have a completely different meaning. やばい has been used by young people with different meanings since the 2000s.
Its original meaning is something dangerous and unexpected, but over time people began to use it to make positive evaluations. In summary, yabai means not good, but over time it began to mean “I was unexpectedly surprised and shocked“.
History and origin of the word Yabai
It is not exactly known how this word started to be used, but its origin probably comes from the Edo Period, where the jargon YABA was used by thieves to refer to the guards. So whenever seeing a guard (a dangerous situation), this word was used.
Others also say that Yaba in the Kanto dialect refers to the shooting range used by Matoya during the Edo period. The word also referred to a place of prostitution, becoming a secret word for a dangerous place and a dangerous situation.
Others claim that the slang derives from the word “ayabui”, which means “dangerous”. Others say that its origin comes from the expression “ya abunai” which also means dangerous. Even with its uncertain origin, its initial meaning has always been something bad.
In the 80s, young people constantly used this word to say that something was not cool, but only in the 90s did young people start to reverse its meaning to something good, cute, delicious, cool, and amazing.
It has nothing to do with it, but YABAI [野梅] can also refer to a wild Japanese plum or apricot.
Different ways to use Yabai
You just ate something delicious and can say: “Kore Yabai!”, thus you are saying that it is tasty. Be careful with the tone of voice, manner, and occasion when saying kore yabai, because it can also mean “this is terrible”.
You can use the expression “Kare, Majide Yabai!” to say that a man is handsome. The word majide means serious which can give the sense of really and so. That is, he is so handsome. Remember that both men and women can use this expression, but be careful as it can sound a bit rude.
Others when they are late for somewhere tend to say to themselves the expression yabai yabai… Worried about the rush to arrive soon at the agreed place. It was as if they were saying to themselves “I need to hurry“.
Yabee, Yabei, Yabasu and Majiyabasu
It is worth noting that the word has different variations such as:
- Yabee [やべー]
- Yabee [やばっ]
- Yabee [ヤベえ]
- Yabei [やべい]
- Yabasu [やばす]
- Majiyabasu [まじやばす]
The use of these slangs varies by region, phrase, and occasion.
Examples of using Yabai
Some young people use this word as “very” so it can indicate that something is very good or bad. See the example below:
一個千円のクッキーなんてやばい高いよね?
Ikko sen'en no kukkī nante yabai takai yo ne?
A 1000 yen cookie is very expensive, don’t you think?
Below we will see a few more sentences:
明日のテストやばそうだ.
Ashita no tesuto yaba-sōda.
It is likely that I will fail the test tomorrow.
やばい！課題を提出し忘れた！
Yabai! Kadai o teishutsu shi wasureta!
Shit! I forgot to do my homework.
警察はやばい仕事です。
Keisatsu wa yabai shigotodesu.
Being a police officer is dangerous.
やばい! 雨降ってきた!
Yabai! Ame futtekita!”
Shit! It started to rain!”
Yabai Desu Ne Meme
Pecorine or Eustiana von Astraea is a character from the Anime and Game Princess Connect Re: Dive. She is the master of the guild ‘Gourmet Building’. This character became a meme because of her phrase endings saying yabai desu ne.
This is something similar to dattebayo that Naruto says. In the official English subtitle, they translated it to “How Crazy is that?” something like “How crazy is this?“. Of course, this translation in my opinion does not make much sense, it just wants to emphasize her phrases.
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