Japan has a famously polite culture, and there aren’t any swear words per se (kids in elementary school, for instance, will say baka instead of referring to it as the b-word), but that isn’t to say there aren’t any scathing insults that you can spew in Japanese.
The Basics
Let’s start with the easy ones. These are classic but somewhat unoriginal, and get the point across. You might hear little boys yelling these in the playground, or they may become viral anime sound bites on TikTok.
Baka: Stupid. If you don’t know this one, you probably know next to nothing about Japan, sorry.
Aho: Also stupid, but with a hint of pizzazz.
Boke: Fool, stupid. This can also refer to the person that makes silly mistakes in a Japanese comedic duo of boke-tsukkomi.
Manuke: Stupid.
Doji: Clumsy, stupid. Clearly, Japanese people love getting creative while calling out someone’s intelligence.
Kuso: Shit. This can be used as a prefix in front of other terms to place emphasis (i.e. kusogaki, kusouzai).
Yaro or Kono yaro: Translates to jerk or asshole, with kono yaro translating to “you jerk.” Can be used as a suffix (i.e. bakayaro, kusoyaro).
Busu: Ugly.
Gaki: Brat (And not the Charli XCX album).
Daikirai: I hate you.
Otaku: A nerd, particularly the anime-loving kind. This is mainstream in English now too, but can be said in a demeaning way in Japanese as well.
Kimoi: Disgusting, creepy.
Uzai: Annoying.
Koitsu or Aitsu: This guy or that guy, but very impolite. In some cases, it’s acceptable to refer to a close friend this way.
Jijii or Babaa: Old man or old lady, but very rude. Not to be mistaken for jiiji and baaba, which refer to one’s grandfather and grandmother.
Leveling Up
Now, add a little bit of spice. These insults are a bit more creative and intense, so not as basic and run-of-the-mill.
Kisama: You bastard. This word originally held the same weight as “your highness” and was very polite, but now it’s mainly used as a derogatory term, often yelled while charging towards someone to punch them. Perhaps this word did a 180 as samurai used it to refer to each other during duels.
Damare: Shut up.
Urusai: You’re loud, shut up.
Doke: Get out of my way.
Usotsuki: Liar.
Iikagen ni shiro: That’s enough.
Kishoku warui: Disgusting. Especially effective if said in its shortened version, kissho.
Atama okashii: Literally translated as “your head is funny,” (not funny haha, funny weird) to mean “you’re crazy.” You can shorten it to make it lose its edge and be sillier: ataoka.
Koshinuke: Coward.
Yowamushi: Literally means “weak bug.” Sissy, weakling.
Supremely Insulting
Don’t blame us if you end up in a fight after saying any of these words. A lot of them are verbs in an aggressive demand form, which can feel very threatening.
Shine: Die, go to hell.
Kutabare: Die, but a slightly old way of saying it. If you say this you’ll sound like a yakuza member from a historical drama, and quite silly.
Kuso kurae: Eat shit.
Chikusho: Damn it, fuck. As close as you’ll get to the F-bomb in the Japanese vernacular.
Yariman: Slut. Short for yaru “to do” (you get the drift) and man, which is a shortened version of the word for female genitalia.
Yarichin: A manwhore. Same as above, with chin being a shortened version of the word for male genitalia.
