Japanese Slang

Japanese Slang is an urban dictionary for the digital generation!

Although Japanese culture is best known for its sense of formality and politeness, the Japanese are particularly fond of playing with language, in large part thanks to the versatility and nuance that their writing systems provide. This results in playful combinations of kanji, kana, and English, where conventional phrases are twisted wryly or turned entirely on their heads to cleverly capture the social attitudes of the time.

While most of the slang described here is a natural part of everyday speech, this dictionary doesn’t shy away from pejorative terms that unfortunately lurk around many online (and offline) spaces. After all, learning a language takes more than knowing how to politely ask about the weather: the real world is a whole lot messier than a classroom, and Japanese Slang will help you make sense of this raw language that lives in the wild.

Suggested for mature readers.