Japanese Swear Words: 25 Real Insults and Curses
🇯🇵 Japanese · 26 cards · B1 · by Haruka Sato
Japanese has no f-word. Almost nothing on this list is taboo the way English obscenities are — offence here comes from rudeness: dropping polite forms, choosing a blunt pronoun, barking a plain-form command. That is why 黙れ (damare, "shut up") lands harder than any anatomical word.
Every card gives you kanji, kana and romaji, because at the start you need all three. I have ordered them from everyday irritation (うざい, キモい) up to the ones that end friendships (死ね, くたばれ). Read the notes before you open your mouth: a few are normal between friends in Osaka and unthinkable in a Tokyo office. Mostly, learn these so you understand what you are hearing.
Flip through the cards, then switch to Quiz. Tap the play button on any row to hear it. The full table below is there to read, print or copy into your own flashcard app.
The Reji iPhone app is being rebuilt and returns to the App Store soon.
All 26 cards
| # | Japanese | Pronunciation | English | Example | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | バカ Kanji 馬鹿. The default insult in Tokyo and the east. Mild — friends and couples use it playfully — but tone decides everything. | baka | idiot, stupid | もう、バカじゃないの? Come on, are you stupid? | |
| 2 | アホ Kanji 阿呆. Example is Kansai dialect. In Osaka アホ is the light, joking word and バカ is the heavy one; in Tokyo it is the other way round. | aho | idiot, fool | 何言うてんの、アホやな。 What are you talking about, you idiot. | |
| 3 | うるさい Kanji 煩い / 五月蝿い. Literally "noisy", but shouted at a person it means "shut up". Very common, mild to medium. | urusai | shut up; noisy, annoying | うるさい!今、集中してるの。 Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate. | |
| 4 | うざい Youth slang, shortened from うざったい. Constant among teens and twenties; rude but not shocking. | uzai | annoying, irritating | あいつ、マジでうざい。 That guy is seriously annoying. | |
| 5 | キモい Short for 気持ち悪い; also written きもい. Aimed at a person it is genuinely hurtful — it implies physical disgust. | kimoi | gross, creepy | その言い方、ちょっとキモいよ。 The way you said that is kind of creepy. | |
| 6 | むかつく A verb used about the thing that angers you, not shouted at a person. Originally "to feel nauseous". | mukatsuku | to piss (someone) off, to be infuriating | あの態度、マジでむかつく。 That attitude really pisses me off. | |
| 7 | 下手くそ 下手 (bad at) + くそ (shit) as an intensifier. Blunt but normal between friends or teammates; never to a customer or a senior. | hetakuso | terrible at something, hopeless | 運転、下手くそすぎでしょ。 You're way too bad at driving. | |
| 8 | 黙れ Plain-form command of 黙る. Colder and far more aggressive than うるさい — this is fight language, and masculine-sounding. | damare | shut up | 黙れ、お前には関係ない。 Shut up, this has nothing to do with you. | |
| 9 | ブス Aimed at women. Strong and genuinely cruel. ブサイク (busaiku) is the more general word and is used for men too. | busu | ugly woman | 人のことブスって言うな。 Don't call people ugly. | |
| 10 | デブ Body insult, strong. Some people use it about themselves as a joke, but never say it to someone else. | debu | fatso | デブって言われて、ずっと泣いてた。 She cried for ages after being called fat. | |
| 11 | ハゲ Kanji 禿げ. A classic insult thrown at middle-aged men; medium strength, often intensified as クソハゲ. | hage | baldy | ハゲって言うなよ、気にしてるんだから。 Don't call me baldy, I'm sensitive about it. | |
| 12 | ババア Rough form of おばあさん, aimed at women. Strong. Male counterpart: ジジイ (jijii, "old geezer"). | babaa | old hag | あのババア、また文句言ってる。 That old hag is complaining again. | |
| 13 | クズ Kanji 屑, literally "scraps". Attacks character rather than looks. Strong. | kuzu | scum, trash (of a person) | 約束破るなんて、ほんとにクズだな。 Breaking your promise like that — you really are scum. | |
| 14 | 変態 In Japanese this is a serious accusation of sexual misconduct, not the English fandom meaning. Shouting it in public draws attention fast. | hentai | pervert | 近寄らないで、この変態! Don't come near me, you pervert! | |
| 15 | お前 Not a swear word, but using it with a stranger, a boss or anyone older is itself an insult. Normal between close male friends. | omae | you (rough) | お前に何がわかるんだよ。 What would you know about it? | |
| 16 | てめえ Contracted from 手前; also written てめぇ. Openly aggressive and male-coded — the pronoun of a street fight or a yakuza film. | temee | you (hostile) | てめえ、何様のつもりだ。 Who the hell do you think you are? | |
| 17 | 貴様 Once an honorific, now pure contempt. Rare in real speech, everywhere in anime, manga and war films. | kisama | you (contemptuous) | 貴様だけは絶対に許さない。 You are the one person I will never forgive. | |
| 18 | バカ野郎 野郎 (yarō) = "bastard, guy", directed at men. Strong, shouted in anger. クソ野郎 (kusoyarō) is harsher again. | bakayarō | damn idiot, you bastard | このバカ野郎、早く謝れ! You damn idiot, apologize already! | |
| 19 | クソ Kanji 糞. Used alone as a curse and as a prefix meaning "damn" (クソ暑い = damn hot). Vulgar but very common in casual speech. | kuso | shit, damn | クソ、また負けた。 Dammit, I lost again. | |
| 20 | ちくしょう Kanji 畜生, literally "beast". Frustration aimed at fate, not at a person. Slightly old-fashioned and masculine. | chikushō | damn it, dammit | ちくしょう、間に合わなかった。 Dammit, I didn't make it in time. | |
| 21 | クソガキ クソ + ガキ (brat). Said about children, or about an adult behaving like one. Strong, though often half-joking. | kusogaki | little brat, damn kid | あのクソガキ、また窓割ったの? That little brat broke the window again? | |
| 22 | ふざけるな Contracts to ふざけんな or ざけんな in real speech. Strong — this is what you shout when you have been cheated. | fuzakeru na | don't screw with me, are you kidding me | ふざけるな、金返せよ。 Don't screw with me, give me my money back. | |
| 23 | なめるな From 舐める, "to lick". Usually heard contracted as なめんな(よ). Aggressive, about wounded pride. | nameru na | don't underestimate me, don't disrespect me | なめるなよ、こっちは素人じゃないんだ。 Don't underestimate me, I'm no amateur. | |
| 24 | 死ね Two syllables, "shi-ne", not like English "shine". Very strong and tied to school bullying and online abuse. Listening vocabulary only — never say it, even as a joke. | shine | drop dead, die | 死ねなんて言うのはやめなよ。 Stop telling people to drop dead. | |
| 25 | くたばれ Vulgar command from くたばる (to croak, to die). Strong and a bit old-school; relationship-ending. | kutabare | drop dead, go to hell | くたばれ、二度と来るな。 Go to hell, and never come back. | |
| 26 | ちんこ Vulgar anatomical slang, childish rather than hostile — unlike English, it is not thrown at people as an insult. Clinical word: 陰茎 (inkei). | chinko | dick, cock | 小学生の男子は、ちんこって言うだけで笑う。 Elementary school boys laugh just at the word "chinko". |
Osaka-born, Tokyo-based. I help English speakers get past hiragana into real conversation. Every card has kanji, kana and romaji, because you need all three at the start.
Questions about this deck
- Does Japanese have swear words as strong as the English f-word?
- Not really. Japanese has very few taboo obscenities, and the anatomical ones like ちんこ sound childish rather than shocking. Offence comes from register: a blunt pronoun (てめえ), a plain-form command (黙れ), or dropping polite language with someone senior. A grammatically clean sentence in the wrong form can insult more than クソ does.
- What is the difference between バカ and アホ?
- Both mean "idiot", but the weight flips by region. In Tokyo and eastern Japan バカ is the everyday, often affectionate word and アホ sounds harsher. In Osaka and Kansai アホ is the light, joking one, while calling an Osakan バカ is a real insult.
- Is 死ね (shine) as bad as it looks?
- Yes. It is the plain-form command "die", pronounced "shi-ne", and in Japan it is strongly associated with school bullying and online harassment. It is not a jokey "go die" the way English speakers sometimes use it. Even among friends it kills the conversation, so keep it as listening vocabulary.
- Which Japanese words for "you" are insulting?
- お前 is rough but normal between close friends or from an older man to a younger one; used with a stranger or a boss it is rude. てめえ is openly hostile and signals a fight. 貴様 is contemptuous and mostly fictional today. Safest is the person's name plus さん, or simply dropping the pronoun, which is what native speakers usually do.
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