Takashi's Japanese Dictionary

A blog for learning Japanese that introduces Japanese slang words and Idioms!

  • Home
  • Posts ▾
    • Latest Posts
    • Featured Posts
    • Phrases by Topic
    • Slang
    • Idiom
    • Column
    • Grammar
    • Reading Comprehension
    • 英語に関する記事 (in Japanese)
  • Lesson Slides ▾
    • For Complete Beginners
    • For Intermediate/Advanced Learners
  • Tools ▾
    • Furigana Generator
    • Gairaigo/Wasei-Eigo Converter
  • What’s New
  • Social Media
  • About
You are here: Home / Casual Words / ドヤ顔 (doya gao) Meaning ‘Showing-Off Face’ in Japanese

ドヤ顔 (doya gao) Meaning ‘Showing-Off Face’ in Japanese

April 20, 2020

Table of Contents

  • Pronunciation
  • Definition
  • Word Structure
  • (ドヤッ): Casual Representation of ドヤ顔 on the Internet
  • Examples
  • Synonyms

Pronunciation

https://takashionary.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20200628-184856.m4a

Definition

ドヤ顔 (どやがお, doyagao) is a casual Japanese word that illustrates a face you make when you show off your success or achievement. The equivalent English phrase is ‘a smug face’, but slightly different from ドヤ顔 in that ‘a smug face’ usually refers to a smirking face while ‘ドヤ顔’ can be either a smirking or serious, confident face. For instance, the moment you make a ドヤ顔 includes when you play a goalkeeper and make a fantastic save in a match; when you say ‘See? I told you.’ to your friends; and when you brag about your fine educational background to others.

To make a verb meaning ‘make a ドヤ顔’, you can say ‘ドヤ顔する’, or more casually ‘ドヤる’.

Word Structure

ドヤ顔 consists of the two words ‘ドヤ/どや’ and ‘顔(がお)’. The first word ‘ドヤ/どや’ is a Kansai dialect of ‘どうだ’, which sort of means ‘See?’ or ‘How was it?’ in English. Usually, it is used when you show off your success to others. For instance, when you have succeeded in something that your friends thought would never be possible, you might say ‘どや’ or ‘どうだ’ to them; however, it actually sounds a bit like acting or anime-ish. The second word ‘顔 (がお/かお)’ means ‘a face’ in English.

(ドヤッ): Casual Representation of ドヤ顔 on the Internet

On the Internet, some people put  ‘ドヤ’, ‘ドヤッ’, ‘どやぁ’ or stuff like that at the end of the sentence when they brag about something in a playful way. These expressions are often used with brackets and basically play the same role as the emoji of a smug face 😏.

Examples

(1) 「実じつは東大卒とうだいそつなんだよね」と言うときは、いつもドヤ顔になってしまう。
Every time I say ‘Actually, I’m a graduate of Todai (The University of Tokyo)’, I cannot help making a ドヤ顔 (confident/smug face)’

(2) たまたまクイズの答こたえ知しっていたからって、何なにドヤ顔してんの?
Why the heck are you ドヤ顔して (making a smug, confident face) just because you happened to know the answer of the quiz?

(3) テストで100点てんを取とってドヤりたい
I want to get 100 marks (full marks) in exam and ドヤる (make a smug face).

(3)
A:テストどうだった?少すこし難むずしくなかった?
B: マジ?超簡単ちょうかんたんだったわ(ドヤ)
A: うざ

A: How was the exam? Wasn’t it a bit difficult?
B: Really? I thought it was sooo easy (ドヤ) ( = 😏 )
A: Damm you

Synonyms

Synonyms: 得意とくいげな顔かお (a smug face; more formal than ドヤ顔), 偉えらそうな顔かお (a condescending face)
Synonyms in English: a smug face, showing-off face
Related words and phrases: ドヤ, ドヤる

Filed Under: Casual Words, Internet Slang, Slang

Related Posts

  • 一発屋 (Ippatsu ya) Meaning ‘One-Hit Wonder’ in Japanese

  • コミュ障 (komyushou) Meaning ‘Suck at Communication’ in Japanese

  • Meaning of ぼっち (Bocchi) and クリぼっち (Kuri Bocchi) in Japanese Slang

  • Meanings and Usages of かな, とか, かも: Japanese Vague Expressions

    Meanings and Usages of かな, とか, かも: Japanese Vague Expressions

  • Japanese Old Slang 社会の窓 (shakai no mado): Meaning

    Japanese Old Slang 社会の窓 (shakai no mado): Meaning

Featured Posts:

  • Japanese Conversation Practice to Master 気-related Idioms
  • “Gakkī Loss”: Meaning of ロス (“Loss”) in Japanese
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very”: Synonyms of とても (totemo)
  • 40 Ways of Saying "Many" in Japanese (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, and More...)
  • 8 Funny and Cute Japanese Cat Idioms
  • Success Story of Ichiro Suzuki: What He Means to Japanese Baseball Fans

Popular Posts:

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Meaning of 卍 (manji) and マジ卍 (Maji manji) in Japanese
  • Meaning of Kenjataimu (賢者タイム, Kenja Time) in Japanese Slang
  • なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • 50 Japanese Words and Idioms about Love & Relationship
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • Meaning of “May Disease” (五月病, gogatsu byou) in Japanese
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • 5 Meanings of ペラペラ (pera pera) in Japanese
  • 40 Ways of Saying “Many/Much” in Japanese (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, …)
  • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings
  • 凸, 凹, 〆, 卍: Meaning of Weird and Funny Japanese Kanji
  • Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms
  • ありがた迷惑 (arigata meiwaku) Meaning “Unwelcome Favour” in Japanese
  • Japanese Slang 帰宅部 (kitaku bu) Meaning ‘Go-Home Club’
  • 20 Japanese Words and Onomatopoeia About Rain (雨, ame)
  • Meaning of “It will snow/rain a lot tomorrow” in Japanese (+ Other Languages)
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • コミュ障 (komyushou) Meaning ‘Suck at Communication’ in Japanese
  • 闇鍋 (yaminabe): Meaning “Dark Hot Pot” with Random Ingredients
  • Meaning of ペーパードライバー (‘Paper Driver’) in Japlish (Japanese English)
  • 40 Funny Japanese Old Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)
  • 炎上 (enjou) Meaning “Come Under Fire” in Japanese
  • Meaning of “Three-Day Monk” (三日坊主, mikka bouzu) in Japanese
  • List of Japanese Abbreviated Words and Phrases
  • Meaning of あかん (akan), the Essential Kansai-Dialect Word
  • Japanese and English Words that Rhyme in Both Languages
  • とにかく (Tonikaku) Means More Than “Anyway”
  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)

Search on Takashionary
(e.g. 'food', 'cat', 'idiom')

If you like this page, follow me on social media!

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ブログランキング・にほんブログ村へPVアクセスランキング にほんブログ村

Follow me!

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Search on Takashionary
(e.g. 'food', 'cat', 'idiom')

Trending Posts

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Meaning of 卍 (manji) and マジ卍 (Maji manji) in Japanese
  • Meaning of Kenjataimu (賢者タイム, Kenja Time) in Japanese Slang
  • List of Japanese Words to Describe Personality
  • 凸, 凹, 〆, 卍: Meaning of Weird and Funny Japanese Kanji
  • 50 Japanese Words and Idioms about Love & Relationship
  • Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms
  • 12 Japanese Idioms and Metaphors about Baseball (Yakyū)
  • なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage
  • 40 Ways of Saying “Many/Much” in Japanese (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, …)
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • コミュ障 (komyushou) Meaning ‘Suck at Communication’ in Japanese
  • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings
  • Meaning of あかん (akan), the Essential Kansai-Dialect Word
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • Japanese Conversation Practice to Master 気-related Idioms
  • とにかく (Tonikaku) Means More Than “Anyway”
  • 5 Meanings of ペラペラ (pera pera) in Japanese
  • ありがた迷惑 (arigata meiwaku) Meaning “Unwelcome Favour” in Japanese
  • List of Intriguing Japanese Compound Words
  • Meaning of “It will snow/rain a lot tomorrow” in Japanese (+ Other Languages)
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very”: Synonyms of とても (totemo)
  • 5 Meanings of 気 (ki) and 30 気-related Phrases/Idioms
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • Puzzling Japanese Kanji Polysemes (With Different Readings)
  • 深夜テンション (shinya tension) Meaning “Midnight High” in Japanese Slang
  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • 40 Funny Japanese Old Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)

Popular Posts

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • 30+ Essential Japanese Words to Describe Food
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • 十八番 (ohako) Meaning “The Songs You Sing the Best”
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • ありがた迷惑 (arigata meiwaku) Meaning “Unwelcome Favour” in Japanese
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • Meaning of Kenjataimu (賢者タイム, Kenja Time) in Japanese Slang
  • Japanese Idiom “Put on a Cat”, 猫をかぶる (neko wo kaburu)
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese

Words by Theme

  • 30+ Essential Japanese Words to Describe Food
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns

Idiom

  • 十八番 (ohako) Meaning “The Songs You Sing the Best”
  • ありがた迷惑 (arigata meiwaku) Meaning “Unwelcome Favour” in Japanese
  • Japanese Idiom “Put on a Cat”, 猫をかぶる (neko wo kaburu)

Japlish

  • 深夜テンション (shinya tension) Meaning “Midnight High” in Japanese Slang
  • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings
  • Meaning of ペーパードライバー (‘Paper Driver’) in Japlish (Japanese English)

Slang

  • Meaning of *活: 婚活 (Konkatsu), 就活/終活 (Shūkatsu) and 朝活 (Asakatsu)
  • 女たらし (onna tarashi) Meaning ‘Lady’s Man’ in Japanese
  • オワコン (Owakon) Meaning ‘Old-Fashioned’ in Japanese Slang

Column

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Success Story of Ichiro: What He Means to Japanese Baseball Fans
  • Meaning of 遠慮 (enryo) and 空気を読む (kuuki wo yomu)

Grammar

  • Meaning of 全然 (Zenzen) Without a Negative Form ない (Nai)
  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • Ageru, Kureru, and Morau: Meaning, Grammar and Difference

日本語記事

  • 韻を踏むお茶目な英語表現、単語、フレーズ、イディオム30+
  • 頭に情景が浮かぶ面白い英語フレーズ、イディオム30+
  • many, much, a lot ofの類語、 言い換え英語表現50+の使い分け
  • 直訳すると変な英語表現、イディオム12
  • 「他界する」を意味するユニークな英語イディオム8選

Categories

Copyright © 2022 · All Rights Reserved