| The phrase... | Means... |
|---|---|
| Ano or Anou | "Um..." "Excuse me..." |
| Ara or ara ara |
"Oh, dear." "My, my." |
| Chotto | "Hey!" "Just a minute!" "Wait!" |
| Eto | "Um..." "Ah..." |
| Hiiiiiii! | A scream of pure terror. |
| Iya |
"Ick!" "Yuck!" |
| Iyan | "No way!" |
| Kora | "Hey!" You can use this on its own or in a sentence, but unlike the English "Hey!", kora comes at the end of the sentence. |
Kyaaa! |
Either, "Eeek! How cute!" or "Eeek! A youkai's eating my fuku!" The archetypal shoujo scream. |
| Maa | "Well..." "Now..." |
| Maa, maa | "Calm down." "Now, now..." |
| Maitta | "I give up." "It's too much for me." |
| Moshimoshi | "Excuse me?" "Hello?" This is what you say when you answer the phone. Occasionally, you'll hear it face-to-face, when it means something like, "Hello? Is anyone home?" For example, when Ryouko was in the grips of Ayeka's mother's Glom of Joy, Ryouko said, "Anou? Moshimoshi?" to get Ayeka's mother's attention. |
| Mou | All-purpose sound of indignation. "Geez!" |
| Ne | "Hey!" "Right?" "Isn't that so?" This is the same as the sentence-ending ne, used on its own. It's mostly a girl thing; boys occasionally use na instead. |
| Oi | "Hey!" |
| Oro | Oro is not a word! I don't care what Kenshin says! "Oro oro" is a sound effect which appears above someone's head when they're surprised--no one actually says it. |
| Saa | "I have no idea." "Beats me." |
| Shitsurei | "Excuse me!" "Excuse you!" "How rude!" This is the "excuse me" shitsurei, used sarcastically. |
| Ttaku | "Geez!" |
| Uso | "No way!" "Really?" |
| Uwaaa! | A startled scream. |
| Yabai | "I'm screwed." "This is no good." |
| Yada | "Don't wanna!" |
| Yare yare | "Good grief." "Thank god." |
| Yatta | "Awright!" "I did it!" "You did it!" |
| Yokatta | "Thank god!" "All right!" |
Cussing
Betcha turned to this section first, didn't you?
Unfortunately, there's nothing really ripe here. The down-and-dirty obscenities are banned from the media, which means they never appear in anime and manga, and since this site is for otaku... *sigh* Maybe later, OK? For now, if you want the skinny on the real filth, try going here.
Many of these words translate like English obscenities. They're not, though. The Japanese aren't that shocked by feces, and words like chikusho have the strength of English words like "fuck," not the connotations.
Temee, kisama, onore, and the like are actually pronouns, so I've put them on the pronoun page.
| The phrase... | Means... | Literally means... |
|---|---|---|
| Shimatta | "Dammit!" "Crap!" Shimatta is polite enough for ladies to use. | It's finished or It's closed. |
| Chi or Ch' | "Crap." "Damn." "Shit." "I'm extremely unimpressed with whatever stunt you've pulled this time." | Shit or a short form of chikusho |
| Kuso | "Damn!" "Shit!" | Shit |
| Bakayaro | "Bastard!" Can be used affectionately, just like the English "bastard." | baka = idiot yaro = guy |
| -me | "Damn ----" Densha-me! - Damn train!
Miaka-me! - That damn Miaka!
Not common; it may be stronger than "damn." |
|
| -yagaru | Yagaru is a verb which attaches to the gerund
of another verb to show contempt for or annoyance with the action.
Mada tatakatte-yagaru. - He's still fucking fighting. / He's still bloody well fighting. |
|
| Chikusho | This is the strongest word in Japanese. You might
translate it as "Fuck!"
Okay, so it's not the strongest word in Japanese--but it's the strongest word in official Japanese. All of the street words which top it are well and truly out of any kind of polite conversation. They're also out of the media, so even if Yuusuke or Vegeta would be completely beyond redemption in real life, the worst word you're going to hear them say is "chikusho." |
Beast |