Aside from the advantage of being visually rather than textually based, the popularity of Dragonball and Street Fighter outside of Japan made it easy for Makanokosappo to cross cultural and linguistic boundaries and catch on with internet nerds around the globe. Now, Japanese humor is often painted as being all-but impenetrable by those without a high level of proficiency in the language, and the idea of not being able to be at least moderately funny in Japanese is quite a discouraging prospect for learners in the early stages of their studies.

But never fear! Just because you aren’t JLPT N1 yet doesn’t mean you are doomed to bore the pants of others when communicating in Japanese. As this article in The Japan Times points out, there is lots of Japanese humor that only requires a basic command of the language to be understood, enjoyed, and used to send your Japanese friends flying into the air from the sheer force of your wit! Three contenders for this year’s Japanese Buzzword of the Year Award have been taken up on the internet in a big way and become memes, and they are perfect examples of how Japanese humor is quite similar to the kinds of things that make us English speakers giggle. So, without further ado, let’s us proceed to teh lolz!

Meme #1: Itsu Yaru Ka? Ima Desho!

Osamu Hayashi’s now-famous catchphrase “Itsu yaru ka?…… Ima deshou!” (When are you actually going to do it? NOW!) made its first appearance in 2012 as part of a T.V. commercial for Toshin High School. A nationwide chain of cram-schools focused on preparing students for the infamously grueling university entrance exams, Toshin tries to lure in customers by showing clips of their best teachers motivating students through their “unique characters” and “inspirational words.” While making the mother of all doya-gao (a Japanese phrase describing look of smugness or self-satisfaction), Osamu faces his students and asks “Itsu yaru ka?” (When are you actually going to do it?), leaves the smallest of pauses, and then answers the question himself “ima desho!” (it’s now or never, right!). The word “ima” simply translates as [now/the present], while “desho” is a grammatical term that, in this particular case, implies that the speaker is very confident that their opinion is correct.

The video gained some attention, but it wasn’t until Toyota hired Osamu to do a parody commercial in 2013 that the videos went viral and Osama’s catchphrase rapidly became one of the most popular memes of the year. Toyota’s commercial mimics the original video, but the “yaru” in “istu yaru ka” is replaced with “kau” (buy), turning the phrase into “When are you actually going to buy it? NOW!”

Usage and Examples

Within a matter of weeks of the commercial being aired, Twitter, Facebook, Mixi, and other such sites were flooded with remix videos, gifs, and image macros.

Dubstep remix anyone?

Or how about the Kirby version?

Another popular way to procrastinate online is to change “itsu yaru ka?” to another question, or alter the response by replacing “ima” with another word or phrase. In the picture below, やる “yaru” has been replaced with 殺る, which is also pronounced “yaru” but means “to kill” or “to knock off!”

“Itsu yaru ka… ima desho!” When are you actually going to knock them off?…NOW!

As Japanese has quite a limited number of sounds, the majority of words have at least one homonym, aka a word that is pronounced the same but written differently and has a different meaning. In the original Toshin commercial, the “ima” meaning “now/the present” is written 今, but there is another “ima” which is written as 居間 and means “living room.”

“Doko de yaru ka? Ima desho!” – Where are you going to do it… In the living room, right?

So when’re you going to start using this meme? Err… sometime soon?

Meme #2: Je! (Je!) (Je!)

In standard Japanese, surprise or shock are usually expressed with the word “eh?”, meaning something like “huh?” in English , or “bikkuri”, which translates roughly as “what a shock!” However, in the dialect spoken in Kosode, Iwate prefecture in North-East Japan, surprise is given voice to with the expression “je!”. The greater the surprise, the more times you repeat the sound, three repetitions usually being the maximum.

One Japanese website gives the following guidance for usage:

Level 1 ‘Je!’

“Udon yori soba no hou ga karori ga takai da te”
[You know, soba noodles are apparently higher in calories than udon noodles]

Level 2 ‘Je! Je!’

“THE BOOM ni wa okinawa no hito wa hitori mo i inai rashiiii yo”
[It seems that not one of the members of The Boom, who play Okinawan-style music, are actually from Okinawa!]

Level 3 ‘Je! Je! Je’

“Ano hito, ojisan ni mieru kedo, jitsu ha obasan nan da yo ne”
[That person over there – they might look like an old man, but it’s actually an old woman.]

So, perhaps you are wondering how and why “je!” became so popular? Well, it’s all thanks to a T.V. drama called ‘Ama Chan’ that was aired on NHK from March to December this year. The story revolves around a girl named Aki Amano who visits her mother’s hometown of Kosode when her grandmother is taken ill. I don’t want to give away too many spoilers, but I will say that the story involves Aki struggling to qualify as a sea urchin diver and aiming to become a famous idol at the same time. The majority of the main characters in the series speak in the Kosode dialect, and thanks to both the popularity of the show the once little-known expression “Je” has taken off in a big way.

Usage and Examples

As with “Ima Desho!”, YouTube videos featuring the expression have been a big hit. One user decided to record his “improved version” of the instrumental theme song by singing along to it with “Je! Je! Je! Je!…”

… while a slightly more ambitious user created his own song inspired by the show, with a “Je”-filled chorus.

Sukoshi odoroku je！ When it’s a little surprise ‘Je!’
Futsuu ni odoroku je！ When it’s an every-day surprise ‘Je! Je!’
Sungoku odoroku je! je! je! je! je! When it’s a big surprise ‘Je! Je! Je! Je!’
Nipponcyuu je! je! je！ All through Japan ‘Je! Je! Je!’

Ever since the first episode, when Aki’s mother receives a message on her phone where “je!” is written using the emoji (‘j’), usage has been a huge hit on social sites such as Twitter.

‘Je!’ = （‘j’）／
‘Je! Je!’ = （‘jj’）／
‘Je! Je! Je!’ = （‘jjj’）／

“Okaasan taoreta! (‘j’)/” [Mum feinted! :O]

Or you could just make a macro by slapping the phrase on a picture of a surprised looking cat because, let’s face it, cute animals are what the internet’s really about.

“Je je je je je!!!!!! Nanda are?” [Ahhhhhhhhhhh! What is THAT?]

Meme #3: Bai Gaeshi

Our third meme also comes from a 2013 T.V. drama. “Hanzawa Naoki” centers around an incredibly bad-ass banker called (shockingly) Hanzawa Naoki (!), who works for the largest financial institution in Japan, Tokyo Chuo Bank. The series tracks the challenges and scandals he encounters as he climbs his way up the administrative ranks. His catch-phrase “yararetara yarikaesu, baigaeshi da!” means “If your enemies hurt you, take double the payback!”, and as the series progresses and his opposition get more dastardly it becomes “jyuubai gaeshi da!” (10 times the payback), and eventually ”hyaku bai gaeshi da!” (take 100 times the payback!).

Just like “ima desho!” and “je! (je!) (je!)“, this one-liner was a huge hit with internet users, and popped up all over the place as the show gained popularity.

Aside from the usual remixes, there is also (the rather difficult) “listen-to-the-phrase-for-three- minutes-non-stop” video challenge.

The interesting thing about the phrase “bai gaeshi da” is that without a specific context it can have a lot of meanings. It can be translated as “double the payback” or “give back twice as good as you get”, depending on how it is used. As a result, there have been numerous discussions about what else should be given or taken back in double.

“Raisu tanonda hazu na no ni han raisu ga kita.”
[Even though I ordered a full portion of rice, I only got a half. Take double the payback!]

“Omiyage wo”
[Souvenirs: give back double what you get]

Humor really is one of the most awesome forms of communication out there; sharing a joke and laughing with someone allows you to break down barriers, establish common ground, and I know I would be more likely to want to spend time talking with someone who can make me laugh. Moreover, language learning is more efficient, beneficial and, well, fun (!) when you are enjoying yourself as you study, so exposing yourself to Japanese humor seems like a pretty good idea overall. One of the great things about these memes is that they’re not exclusively used online – they have been appearing on T.V. and in real-life conversations throughout the year, so you can work them into both your written and spoken Japanese!

Do you know any other Japanese memes that can be easily understood by English speakers that you can share in the comments?

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Bonus Wallpapers!

[2560x1600] ∙ [1280x800]

Now, when I say “overwhelmed” with English words, I don’t just mean there are a lot of them. I mean they are everywhere in Japan- staring you down and mocking you every way you turn. You can’t hide. They’re watching you.

At first, this fact was easy for me to just accept, even if it wasn’t what I expected Japanese to be (Free English words? score!), and it’s not especially apparent to residents of Japan who are surrounded by it everyday.

But, have you ever wondered why there are so many English words lurking about in Japan like a bunch of drunk party crashers?I mean, who invited them there anyway when Japan has a perfectly good language of its own? I’ll tell you why. The motivation for absorbing so many words from other languages can be broken down into four categories: compensation, upgrading, obscuring, and humor.

Compensation and Modernization

“Compensation” is probably the most obvious reason for stealing (I mean borrowing) words from foreign languages. In terms of linguistics, compensation has to do with absorption of foreign loanwords into the areas of a language where vocabulary is not yet developed or does not yet already exist. Since languages start off with an abundance of vocabulary in some fields, and a lack of vocabulary in others (see Part 1), it’s only natural that with language contact and the introduction of new cultural concepts, things get traded.

After Japan’s isolation period ended in 1868 and the doors to trade with the West were finally (forced) open, Japan had a lot of “catching-up” to do. With the trading of new goods from aboard, a whole heap of Western and technical terminology breached the floodgates. Then, with the American occupation during the years following WWII, Japan was heavily influenced by the ‘Murican forces – Japan was going to learn the word for cheeseburger whether they liked it or not! Of course, this introduced a whole slew of other words and ideas to the language that had never been present before. One of them was probably type 2 diabetes.

Okay, so it’s pretty obvious that English loanwords have often compensated for gaps in the Japanese vocabulary (spoon, fork, knife) and vice versa (sushi, tsunami, rickshaw). But, what about the cases in which a foreign word is adopted where a perfectly good native Japanese word already exists? This is where things get interesting – and complicated.

As you may have noticed, the rate at which Japanese has absorbed loanwords has resulted in a number of synonyms in the language, making it all the more frustrating for learners. I realize English is even worse, but seriously, does there have to be 6 words in the dictionary for everyone one I look up (Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tiger by his toe?). Yes, it does seem ridiculous, but there are reasons for everything.

Let me Upgrade You

Just as Kango, or words of Chinese origin, can have a classical, academic effect in the Japanese language (see Part 1), Western-based terms, especially from English, have effects of their own. One of these effects is social upgrading.

Due to a mess of political and cultural influences over the years, the English language is often regarded with a sense of elitism and prestige in Japan (though, sometimes it’s the opposite). Therefore, upgrading in this case refers to the social benefits received by using English loanwords in Japanese. In other words, using English vocabulary is a way of building one’s social image and making others say “Oh you fancy, huh?”

I got street cred, yo.

One example of this is using technical English terminology to sound as if you know something special and high-level. It’s sort of the same thing old Victorian era men did when they threw in random French words as if everyone knew French. I suppose since everyone is graded on their English skills in school, it’s almost like being really good at a subject like math in the US… sort of.

If it’s true that English carries an air of prestige, then it’s only natural that advertising companies would eat this stuff up (they have to sell you stuff so you can be cool, of course). Countless companies in Japan have created English advertising campaigns in an attempt to make their products look high-class, or “swag” as you kids say. And since commercials have such an influential force over the very flexible minds of young whippersnappers, English has become the coolest of the cool (it’s just so ironic).

Consequently, more and more English words have flooded the Japanese pop culture scene in recent years. However, because English is obviously not the native language of Japan, this has resulted in some pretty hilarious and downright confusing situations.

Although social upgrading is not the primary motivation for adopting English loanwords, it is especially associated with communication between youth and in the commercial realm.

Obscuring the Facts

English loanwords are not absorbed solely for fashion purposes. When I asked my Japanese friend Yuri how she felt when hearing English loanwords, she said:

“English words make everything sound blurry and vague.”

It happens in every language; foreign words are used to cover-up unpleasant or taboo ideas. Using a foreign word in place of a native one has the effect of obscuring the meaning, therefore blunting the force of said word. So, just as I can yell “scheiße!” in an American grocery store surrounded by elderly women without turning too many heads, people in Japan could potentially get away with advertising a big ‘ol F-bomb on their knickers.

That’s one classy granny. Now, an older woman in a “fart” shirt might seem innocent enough – just another helpless victim of marketing – but there are times when loanwords are used for less reputable purposes.

Rebel Yell

Angsty teenagers and rebels everywhere have their own way of sticking it the man, and language is usually a part of that. Japanese people who fit into this “rebellious” category often try to put themselves out of the mainstream by using language opaque to outsiders, and what better way to do that then to confuse everyone with English?

Using English as a rebellious language works in two ways: 1) instead of using it in a positive context, English words are usually selected to refer to negative ideas, and 2) the English language is sometimes mangled and warped to fit a particular group, separating it completely from standard usage.

For example, トラブる or トラブする means to make trouble, ペーパー (paper) means counterfeit money, and アド (address) refers to a hidden location. Graffiti written in romanized characters can also be found spewed all over the cities, giving the same effect of obscurity. Much of this has to do with creating in-groups and keeping social distance from the “majority.” Like man, if you don’t know yo street language, you be dissin’ yo homies. Word.

My English subtitles are so street, man.

Don’t Feel Guilty

Another effect English loanwords have is the diminishing of guilt associated with taboo subjects by creating euphemisms or codes. An interesting example is DCブランド. The original meaning of this phrase is “discount on name brand goods,” but it’s come to refer to students whose grades are primarily low Cs and Ds. Oh, the scandal! Money lending companies also like to take advantage of the vagueness of English words. “Money loan? Oh, that doesn’t sound so bad.”

Another example of this would be the words “hug” and “kiss” in Japanese. Have you ever wondered why English loanwords are used in these situations when obviously hugs and kisses weren’t imported from the UK or America (or were they)? Of course, these words do exist in Japanese, but over time their English counterparts have replaced them as common use words. According to my friend Yuri:

“If someone says せっぷん (kiss) or ほうよう (hug) in Japanese, I think everyone would be like, ‘Huh?! What happened?!’”

Blasphemy!!!

So, the Japanese words for hug and kiss sound very heavy and serious, while their English counterparts sound less like a dramatic scene in a K-drama and more like a good pat on the back. Good to know. If you think about English, “taboo” words are disguised all the time, too – especially by widely giggling junior high students. Giggity!

Be Polite!

Obscuring the truth is not always a bad thing. I mean, do you really have to tell your girlfriend that in fact, yes, her butt does look ginormous in those pants? In Japanese, using the English counterparts to native terms can sometimes be polite. For example, if you want to say copulate in Japanese, using “エッチ (ecchi, or H)” is a nicer way to do so, and saying “トイレ (toire)” instead of “便所 (benjo)” is always a good choice if you want to save your poor grandmother’s ears from your blasphemous mouth.

My granddaughter says what on Facebook now?

My friend Yuri gave a great example of this concept, too:

“When I don’t like something I can just say: ‘この部品はスタンダード (standard) から外れているかな’ (kono buhin wa sutandaado kara hazureteiru kana, “I wonder if this part is lacking something…“)

“Standard,” huh? Sounds pretty vague to me. During the interview she went on to describe how even her sociology textbook is filled with indirect English terms, used to avoid being overly harsh on touchy subjects. One of the chapter titles in her sociology textbook was: ネガティブなまなざしを感じ取るースティグマ化 (negatibu na manazashi wo kanjitoru – sutigumaka, Looking at negative perceptions – a changing stigma). If you’ll notice, the words “negative,” and “stigma” are both in English. If you try looking over some Japanese material, you might notice this trend.

Have Some Humor

The last use of English loanwords in Japanese I will touch briefly on is humor. Although it can be difficult to understand humor in other cultures, making fun of other languages is always a classic. However, since English is studied by all students in Japan, it’s a special case. Comedians love to twist the language and make it sound even stupider. For example, one comedian gets laughs by attaching the Japanese honorific “o” to plain loanwords like “juice.” Apparently the ridiculousness of the whole thing is a real gut-buster (I don’t get it).

The use of loanwords in Japanese is very complicated, and this is no way an exhaustive list of uses. However, getting a feel for the flavor English loanwords have in the language is a great way to better understand Japanese, especially when it comes to all those synonyms (and maybe even some Japanese humor). Although this “Westernization” of the Japanese language has been strongly criticized in recent years, all societies have their own ways of expressing social issues through language, and I happen to find the case of English loanwords in Japanese especially mind blowing. Have any thoughts on the subject? Hit me up in the comments section below.

[hr]

Sources:
Language Contact in Japan: a Sociolinguistic History

Read All the Posts in This Series:
Japanese, The Borrower Language Part 1: Where the Japanese Language Came From
Japanese, The Borrower Language Part 2: Twisting Words
Japanese, The Borrower Language Part 3: Why They Do It

There’s so much to talk about in regards to this odd specimen, but one thing that I want to take a look at most specifically is their own ritualistic language (gyaru-go) which, like their fashion, morphs rapidly and drastically. Have you ever wondered about their language and what they’re saying? Let’s get you up to date!

For The Uninitiated-What actually is a Gyaru?

“Gyaru” refers to a Japanese fashion and social sub-culture of girls who follow a certain style of clothes, hair, makeup, and activities. They’re kind of the valley-girls of Japan, some would say. Within the gyaru culture, there are countless sub-categories. The most famous are probably kogyaru (high school gyaru) and the shocking ganguro (known for their burned to a crisp beyond recognition skin.)

The magazine above (EGG) is one of the most popular magazines for gyaru. Note the light hair, dark skin, long nails, and heavy makeup.

Now let’s look at a ganguro of the 90′s and early 2000′s (above). Gyaru have since evolved, and very few ganguro exist these days. Whiter skin is in now, and the extremely dark tans are out. Most gyaru nowadays tend to go less for the shocking look and more for the overly-feminine look.

Kogyaru wear short skirts and loose socks with school uniforms (although loose socks are a bit passé as of recently). School uniforms are very much in for gyaru, even if they don’t go to school anymore. In fact, many girls go to schools without uniforms so that they can wear fake uniforms that are way more chou kawaii than actual uniforms.

Gyaru in their natural habitat- in front of a camera (both professional and phone.)

And in their other natural habitat- the streets of Shibuya. These gyaru are all in their first year of high school- so 15-16 years old and kogyaru.

Gyaru also have a habit of sticking their tongues out in pictures. If you go through a gyaru magazine, you are bound to see many tongue poses. I feel like gyaru go for feminine-cute in their appearance, but sometimes try to defy classic Japanese femininity in their actions.

There’s also the male form of Gyaru, called Gyaruo. They have their own magazine (Men’s EGG) though they are fewer in number compared to their female counterpart.

Old Gyaru-go

Gyaru can’t talk too much differently from the rest of the world right? Right? Well, turns out that gyaru tend to speak with their own silly slang thrown into their super-casual speech, which is enough to confuse the casual observer. So, what are some famous and time-old examples of gyaru-go? Here are some things that I’ve heard around the past couple of years.

Agepoyo あげぽよ

Age means to raise, and poyo doesn’t really mean anything. But Agepoyo can be yelled when excitement is high. Kind of like yelling “YOLO”, agepoyo can be an equivalent to “I’m so hyper right now omg! Agepoyo!” Coincidentally, the opposite of agepoyo is sagepoyo, often used jokingly. (Sage meaning “to lower”). Here’s a video called “Agepoyo Summertime” to let you know how you can basically use agepoyo anytime for anything positive or happy.

Examples:

けいすけからメール来た！アゲポヨ！(Keisuke kara meeru kita! Agepoyo!)
I got a text from Keisuke! Agepoyo!

いい天気ね！アゲポヨ！(Ii tenki ne! Agepoyo!)
The weather is so nice! Agepoyo!

今夜はねない！アゲポヨ！(Konya wa nenai! Agepoyo!)
I’m not sleeping tonight! Agepoyo!

Next time you’re partying with your friends and start yelling YOLO at the top of your lungs, be sure to add an AGEPOYO! It will make your テンションMAX!

Torima とりま

Torima is a shortened version of toriaezu maa, which means “for the meantime, well…” You can use this word when you’re planning things on the fly, like hanging out with your other gyaru friends or choreographing a para para dance.

Example:

ゆきてぃんは遅刻よ。とりま、先に行こうかな (Yukitin ha chikoku yo. Torima, saki ni ikou kana)
Yuki-tin is running late. Well, for now let’s just go anyways.

Gyaru text ギャル文字

Who here remembers l33t? Well, instead of nerds, gyaru have basically made the Japanese equivalent (No, not goroawase, something much more complicated). Instead of typing the actual kana character, when using gyaru text, you use a different symbol that kind of looks like the character. These girls must have spent a LOT of time looking through foreign typefaces and symbols to find ones that are similar to kana.

With kanji, it gets a little more complicated. Gyaru have taken the beautifully molded kanji, ripping them apart to radicals with their long sharp fingernails and using multiple characters next to each other that combine to make a single kanji. For example, 林 becomes 木木, 妹 becomes 女末, and  超  becomes 走召.

]яёぉ言売〆ゑ ｶゝﾚヽ？

So that’s all old news gyaru-go. Of course, you like totally knew all of that already, cha? So what’s new? What’re the young people saying?

New Gyaru-go

Now that you know the history of gyaru-go, let’s get onto what’s hip and cool right now! These are some words you might hear coming from the bright gaggles of gyaru on the streets of Shibuya.

Yababa! やばば！

Do you remember yabai from my last Japanese slang article? It’s basically an expression to yell when something is either really terrible or really great. Gyaru have made what was once their own their own again! Yababa is a twist on yabai. The more ba’s you add to the end the more yabai it becomes.

Example:

やばばばばば！つけま忘れちゃった！(Yabababababa! Tsukema wasurechatta!)
Omgggggg! I forgot my fake eyelashes!

Although it may seem a little odd yelling “babababa” out, just embrace it for what it is and have fun with it. Remember, you can also yell “yababababa” when something is ridiculously cute, too!

Gekiokopunpunmaru 激怒ぷんぷん丸

Mad, angry, furious. These are a few words that describe anger in English. But what if you are harboring a different kind of angry? Well, lately, a new set of 6 words that describe a scale of anger have started to become known and used in the general public. Here’s the chart that became famous through Japanese TV:

Let’s break this madness down.

おこ Oko: From the word Okoru, or to be mad. Just regular mad.

まじおこ Maji oko: Do you remember maji from my last article on slang? Very mad.

激おこぷんぷん丸 Geki oko punpun maru: One who looks mad in a cute fashion. Think pouting and cute-punching. This is the most famous one out of the bunch.

ムカ着火ファイヤー Muka chakka fire: Pretty darn mad. “Muka” comes from mukatsuku which means irritating and is more used as a way to say “piss off” and chakka means igniting or catching on fire. Essentially, so irritated that one catches on fire.

カム着火インフェルノーォォォォオオウ Kamu chakka infernoooooOOO: Muka spelled backwards, ignition INFERNOOOOO. Let’s just say you don’t want to mess with someone this mad.

激おこスティックファイナリアリティぷんぷんドリーム Geki oko stick final reality punpun dream: Nothing new to explain here. If someone gets to this level of mad, either someone is going to die or many things will break.

So next time you’re asked by your gyaru friends how mad Sacchan’s boyfriend was when he found her cheating on him, or how mad you were when your two-inch fake nail fell off, you can answer accurately! Geki oko punpun maru! That being said, if you ever say this nobody will really take you seriously. It’s a kind of “I’m mad but not really but maybe I am” sort of angry, if you catch my drift.

The chart above also started a meme where people have been inserting their favorite characters into each anger category, sometimes making their own! Here are some examples:

This takes dedication.

Shiba, majishiba, gekishiba mofumofu maru, shiba chakka fire, shiba chakka inferno, geki shiba stick final reality mofumofu dream.

Yuru-chara funasshi wants his say too! After all, he recently won first place in the national contest for favorite local character!

Yaguru　ヤグる

Yaguru means to be caught cheating on one’s boyfriend. Interestingly, the passive form of this word, “yagurareru” means to catch your boyfriend or girlfriend cheating, making the active and passive forms switch places.

Example:

やばばばばばば！山田とデートの途中で彼氏にヤグっちゃった！(Yababababababa! Yamada to deeto no tochuu de kareshi ni yagucchatta!)
Omgomgomgomg! When I was in the middle of a date with Yamada, my boyfriend caught me cheating!

KS

KS is when someone reads your message on LINE but doesn’t respond to it either because they forgot or they’re ignoring you. Usually used as a verb, KS stands for 既読スルー (kidoku suruu). It really should be KT for “kidoku through”, but English is typically not a gyaru’s strong point. I know that I accidentally KS people quite a bit just because of my scattered brain, but I’ve also been purposely KS’ed before.

Example:

みかみかにあそぼーってLINEしたけどKSされた！(Mikamika ni asoboo tte LINE shita kedo KS sareta!)
I asked Mikamika to hangout with me on line, but she KS’d me!

Any Gyaru out There?

Are you interested in gyaru culture now? Magazines like EGG and PopTeen should be pointers for style, as well as the internet of course. There are countless para para tutorial videos on Youtube, as well as a para para arcade game (similar to DDR) that is rare, but has been seen by human eyes before.

I know that when I went to my high school in Japan as an exchange student, there were budding gyaru everywhere around me. If only I had known these words earlier, maybe I could have won over their favor. Have you seen any gyaru out in the wild? Do you consider yourself a gyaru? Have you heard or used any of these terms? Share so in the comments! Otherwise I’ll surely get all gekioko punpun maru at you.

Even if you feel like you know some slang from watching movies or anime, here’s a list of  some essential words that will come in handy when you’re in a group of Japanese people, especially kids or youth, although many people of a more finely-aged demographic can often be seen using these words too.

Watch this video before you learn some of these words, then watch it again afterwards, and see what you can recognize.

So how did that go? Let’s do some learnin’ and then come back later. Hopefully the next time you watch it a lot more will make sense. Let’s start with verbs:

Verbs

しゃれてる(shareteru)

Shareru is a verb that comes from the adjective oshare which means fashionable. By itself it can most properly be used to mean stylish, but recently shareru is used to describe anything good. Just as the word umai is a synonym of both oishii (tasty) and jouzu (skillful/good at), you can use shareru (and its present-tense form shareteiru which gets slang-ized into shareteru) to refer to something that is good. This is more popular among teenagers.

A:さやかはいつもかわいい服を着てるね！(Sayaka wa itsumo kawaii fuku wo kiteru ne!)
A: Sayaka always wears such cute clothes!

B:そうね、いつもしゃれてるね！(Sou ne, itsumo shareteru ne!)
B: You're right, she's always doing it right!

しけてる(shiketeru)

In a sense, shikeru is the opposite of shareru. You use shikeru when something is bad, distasteful, or leaves you with an empty feeling. This is also more popular among teenagers. I’ve seen games and sports played by Japanese teenagers who shout “Shiketa!”when they miss and “Shareta!” when they score. (Both past forms of the word)

A:お母さん、今日の夕飯しけてるね!(Okaasan, kyou no yuuhan shiketeru ne!)
A:Mom, today's dinner sucks!

B:そんなこと言うな！(Sonna koto iuna!)
B:Don't say that!

いかれてる(ikareteru)

Whoa dude, you’re going crazy! Ikareru  can mean many things, but if you hear someone call their friend ikareteru after they said or did something strange, they’re being called crazy. It’s nothing seriously insulting in the slang version when it is used between friends. Having been called ikareteru more than a few times, I am usually fine with the sentiment. You can also say 頭いってる (atama itteru).

A:最近ずっと考えてるけど、AKBのメンバーと結婚しようと思う。(Saikin zutto kangaeterukedo, AKB no membaa to kekon shiyou to omou.)
A: I've been thinking about this for a while but, I think that I'm going to get married to an AKB member.

B:頭いってる！お前いかれてる！(Atama itteru! Omae ikareteru!)
B: You've lost it! You're completely crazy!

ウケル(ukeru)

This is another funny example of the Japanese language using verbs where the English equivalent is an adjective. Ukeru literally translates to “to take,” but in slang-lang is used as a reaction to something that is funny. It’s in the verb category although it’s more of an interjection

A:最近、自分はかわいいかなって思ってる。(Saikin, jibun wa kawaii kana tte omotteru.)
A: Lately, I've started to realize that I might be cute.

B:wwwww～ウケる！(wwwww~ ukeru!)
B:lololololol~ You're hilarious!

Adverbs&things

超 (chou)、めっちゃ (meccha)、マジで (maji[de])、 ガチ (gachi)

If you’ve been learning Japanese in a classroom, you’ve probably learned the adverb “very” as totemo or sugoku. But in english, do we exclusively use “very” as an adjective when we talk to people? I for sure know that when I talk with my way cool friends, we totally use words that are super convenient and create emphasis instead of “very”. For example, a Japanese conversation can go like this:

X:これ、とてもかわいいね。すごく安かったし、とても便利だよ！本当に！(Kore, totemo kawaii ne. Sugoku yasukatta shi, totemo benri da yo! Hontou ni!)
X: This is very cute. It was surprisingly cheap, and is very convenient. Really!

Although this way of speaking is very proper, it’s not really what you’ll hear young people say on the street or talking to friends. It would go more like this:

X:これ、超かわいいね。めっちゃ安かったし、マジで便利だよ！ガチで！(Kore, chou kawaii ne. Meccha yasukatta shi, maji de benri da yo! Gachi de!)
X: This is super cute. It was totally cheap, and really convenient. Seriously!

Chou and meccha can be used interchangeably unless you’re in the kansai area, where meccha is the go-to word.

Maji, meaning really or seriously, (which comes from majime which means serious,) actually seems to have been used since the Edo peroid. Gachi has the exact same usage as maji. Let’s let AKB48 show us a few ways to use maji!

Adjectives

ヤバい(yabai), ウザい(uzai), キモい(kimoi)、ダサい(dasai), ブス(Busu), ズルい(zurui), びみょう(bimyou),さいてい(saitei)

These adjectives are often used as interjections. Note that some are written with katakana until the hiragana i. This is the most common way to stylize slang words, but can also be written in either all hiragana or all katakana.

Yabai- said when something bad happens. Confusingly can also be said about good things too. People started to use yabai as ”uncool” in the 80′s, and then in the nineties as “sugoi“, an interjection meaning “wow” “amazing.”

A:ヤバい！雨降って始めた！(Yabai! Ame futte hajimeta!)
A:Oh crap! It started raining!

A:猫ちゃんの写真みて！(Neko-chan no shashin mite!)
A:Look at the picture of this kitty!

B:ヤバい！かわいい！(Yabai! Kawaii!)
B:OMG! So cute!

Uzai- Annoying. Used to describe a person. Can also mean gloomy, troublesome, loud, or bothersome. If you’re calling something or someone uzai, it’s never with a positive connotation.

A:あっちゃんはいつもツイッターで何人ものツイーツをリツイートしてて、うちは読みたくない！ウザい！(Acchan wa itsumo tsuittaa de nan nin mo no tsuiitsu wo ritsuiito shitete, uchi wa yomitakunai! Uzai!)
A: On twitter, Acchan keeps retweeting so many people's tweets that I don't want to read! It's so annoying!

B:そんなにいっぱいだとめっちゃウザいよね。(Sonna ni ippai nara meccha uzai)
B: If there's that many it gets totally annoying.

Kimoi- Gross. Comes from kimochi-warui which can mean gross, bad feeling, or sick to the stomach. Kimoi less versatile in that it can only mean gross. (On a side note, things can be both kimoi and kawaii at the same time!)

A:コウイチくんみて！鼻水出てる！キモイね！(Koichi-kun mite! Hanamizu deteru! Kimoi ne!)
A: Look at Koichi-kun! His nose is running! Isn't he gross?

B:キモイキモイ！こびとづかんにみえる！
B: Gross gross! He looks like a kobitodukan!

Dasai- Lame or uncool. Can be used to describe objects or people. The Japanese view on what is lame might differ from your view- despite my example below, Asia loves crocs! Hipster glasses also bombard the nation. Because eyesight in Japan is the worst in the world, there are many people who wear contacts under their lensless glasses.

A:山田くんはクロックスはいてる！ダサくない？(Yamada-kun wa kurokkusu haitteru! Dasakunai?)
A: Yamada-kun is wearing Crocs! Isn't that lame?

B:ダサイよね！(Dasai yo ne!) 
B:You're right, he's so lame! 

Busu- Ugly. Originated from busaiku, the longer form of ugly. It’s pretty serious, so be wary of people’s feelings, even when joking. Seriously. You don’t want to be called ugly.

A:AKB48のメンバーの中にかわいい子いる？(AKB48 no menbaa no naka ni kawaii ko iru?)
A:Are there any cute girls in AKB48?

B:いや、みんなブス。(Iya, minna busu.)
B:Nope, they're all ugly.

Zurui- Sneaky. Can also be used as “not fair!” or “you suck!” Think of the sly and cunning fox in old children’s stories.

A:今日は学校サボって、遊園地行った！(Kyou wa gakkou sabotte, yuuenchi itta!)
A: Today I skipped school and went to an amusement park!)

B:ずるい！(Zurui!)
B:You sneaky bastard!

Bimyou- Not very good. Kind of between maa maa and mazui when using it to describe foods. Definitely has as negative connotation. It can be used about anything that’s a little less than giri-giri, or not good. J

A:ラーメンバーガー美味しかった？(Raamen baaga oishikatta?)
A: Was the ramen burger good?

B:ううん、びみょうだった（笑）(Uun, bimyou datta.)
B: No, it kind of sucked lol

Saitei-The lowest (worst). The word itself can mean the ultimate lowest in a non-slang situation as well, like in math or statistics. As slang though, you can use it to describe any person, thing or situation.

A:最近のポップ音楽きらい。特にジャスティン・ビーバーさいてい。(Saikin no poppu ongaku kirai. Toku ni jasutin biibaa saitei.)
A:I hate today's pop music. Especially Justin Bieber, he's the worst.

B:あのガキ？ウケるよね！(Ano gaki? Ukeru yo ne!)
B:That kid? He's a joke!

Text Slang

Nowadays, people one their スマホ(smartphone) use various アプリ(apps), including ones like Twitter, where these useful little buzzwords originated.

なう、うぃる、わず
nau, wiru, wazu
now, will, was

Now, will and was. The use of these words is very different from the use of them in English. Basically, you just slap them onto the end of whatever you are doing, going to do, or did do. This is better learned through examples, so here are some of your favorite celebrities demonstrating the lovely use of nau, wiru, and wazu! (These are almost exclusively text slang and are hardly ever used in speech.)

You didn’t know that Bill Gates was a huge Pokemon fan?

And that’s why you’re off the air.

You go, Dalai Lama!

Heart attack now- at least you’re being honest, McDonald’s.

So go ahead and watch the first video again. Now memorize these and impress your Japanese friends. You’ll get a fun reaction.

This list is short and basic, but essential. Once you know these, you’ve got a basis for the harder stuff, so study up!

What’s your favorite Japanese slang that’s not included in here? Do you have any fun stories about using or hearing slang? Share them in the comments, and let us know if you want to see more posts like this!