
Or you may be able to correctly understand that certain slang words and phrases should not be arbitrarily used by you. When you encounter slang in everyday Japanese conversation, you may also have difficulty understanding it, so don’t misunderstand.īy learning Japanese slang, you can improve your ability to use everyday Japanese and become friendlier when talking to your Japanese friends. Even if there is one, the slang that is available is probably out of date. Therefore, if you can take the time to learn the slang used in everyday Japanese life, you can deepen your understanding of Japanese and it’s not impossible that you’ll be able to get along more easily with native Japanese friends who are around you.Īlso, it’s very hard to find a dictionary of Japanese slang. This is because textbooks only teach polite, even very polite speech and language. If you’re learning Japanese from scratch, you’ll probably never find slang in textbooks. The List of 48 Most Popular Japanese Slang You Need to Knowġ. Most of the writing slang can be written in hiragana or katakana, but some is explicitly written in kanji. If there is no mark on them, it means that they can be used in both cases. Some written Japanese slangs shouldn’t be used in spoken Japanese and vice versa, so they are marked with a (T) for text-only slangs and (S) for spoken Japanese slangs. One of the unique things about slang is that its meaning can sometimes change depending on the context and that sometimes there is no direct translation, so for each slang there will be a little explanation of it and then some examples of how it is typically used. There is also a wide variety of slang that is not safe for work, but you shouldn’t use slang in the office or with a teacher. It is mostly used for descriptions, greetings, and expressions of emotion, and is rarely used in reference to each other.

It is interesting to note that Japanese slang is different from English slang. Remember that in Japan there is always a boundary of respect and position based on social or workplace rank, age or experience. We don’t recommend using slang when speaking in front of an audience, or when speaking to a teacher or boss on the clock or during class. So, when you feel close enough to someone, keep the ~masu ~desu down and start talking more informally, adding some slang here and there! It is also important to note that, as always, there is a time and a place for slang and informality. Or even give the impression that you are not open to making friends or interacting. Communicating only in textbook Japanese will make you sound stoic and too formal, sometimes even hard to approach. As they say in most Japanese schools, after the first few months, “most people don’t use “watashi” to refer to themselves in everyday life.

This in itself makes you seem more approachable for normal conversation, and makes native Japanese speakers feel more confident in touching on topics that they may initially feel you don’t understand because they don’t know how fluent you are in Japanese.Ī textbook will only take you so far. It is interesting to see how flexible Japanese slang is, and it helps to keep conversations fluid and short! Also, being able to understand it and, even better, use it in your everyday conversations will make you sound more fluent and friendlier!
#SUDO MEANING SLANG TV#
Therefore, with this article, we are trying to give you a pocket guide and slang dictionary so that you can understand what everyone is saying in slang, whether it is online, in real life, or just in a TV show or YouTube video. Every year that comes, every new generation has its own unique additions and twists to the language. Like any language, it changes, and it is not something fixed and static. But this “textbook Japanese” is not what is actually used in everyday life in Japan.

Most Japanese textbooks and self-study guides teach the average, grammatically correct Japanese that most Japanese people could understand. Learn Japanese 2022.06.22 2023.05.31 Koji Sudo 48 Most Popular Japanese Slang You Need to Know
