Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese

Pronunciation

Definition of ガチ (gachi)

ガチ (がち, gachi) is a Japanese slang term that means “(something/someone is) so serious or real”. It is often used when you want to emphasise that there are no jokes or exaggeration at all in their statements.

1. Usage as an Adverb

Usually, ガチ is used as an adverb “ガチで”, e.g. “ガチでうまい”  meaning “seriously tasty” and “ガチで勉強べんきょうする” meaning “study seriously”. In particular, “ガチでやばい” is a very common phrase that means someone/something is so bad (or good, sometimes). For example, it is often used to describe a catastrophic typhoon, or someone who is so weird, abnormal and scary.

2. Usage as an Adjective

ガチ is also used as an adjective “ガチの” or “ガチな” to indicate that something is so serious, real, and/or important. For instance, “ガチの天才てんさい” means “bona fide genius” and “ガチな試合しあい” means “serious match”.

Definition of マジ

マジ is probably the most common slang word in Japanese. It is basically a casual word for “とても (very)”, and is usually used as “マジ” or “マジで” before an adjective. For example, “マジ(で)うまい” means “so tasty” and “マジ(で)疲つかれた” means “(I’m) so tired”. As in ガチ, マジ is often combined with やばい to describe something bad or good. In a casual conversation, マジ is also frequently used as a short response to describe one’s surprise, like “Really?” in English.

Differences between ガチ and マジ

Although ガチ and マジ have very similar tones and meanings, there are some differences. First of all, ガチ contains a younger and more casual tone than マジ; therefore, if you are in your 30s or older, it’s probably better to avoid using ガチ (マジ also sounds young, but it is used among wider generations). Second, マジ is much more frequently used than ガチ (regardless of age), and therefore when people use ガチ instead of マジ, it sounds a bit more serious, e.g. ガチでやばい台風たいふう (seriously dangerous typhoon) sounds a bit more dangerous and serious than “マジでやばい台風” (so dangerous typhoon).

Related Word: ガチ勢 (がちぜい, gachi zei)

ガチ勢ぜい (gachi zei) is an internet slang term that describes people who are very serious about something. It is often used to describe gamers, but can be used for anyone who is adept at and serious about something. Sometimes, it contains a negative connotation like “too serious”, as shown in Ex4.

Example Sentences

Ex1
A: ネット詐欺さぎで100万円まんえん騙だまし取とられた
B: え？それガチでやばくない？
A: I’ve lost one million yen though an online fraud
B: What? Isn’t it seriously a big deal?

Ex2
ガチのコスプレイヤーを電車でんしゃで見みた。
I saw a serious cosplayer in the train.

Ex3
スマブラガチ勢ぜいと試合しあいやったらボコボコにされた
I had a match of Super Smash Bros. with its gachizei (expert) and got thrashed.

Ex4
楽たのしくサッカーやってたのに、ガチ勢ぜいが加くわわってからつまんなくなった。
We were playing football for fun, but after gachizei joined us, it became boring.
(Here, gachizei indicates people who are always serious about playing football) )

Related Post

List of Japanese Words for “Very/Really”: Synonyms of とても (totemo)

List of Japanese Words for “Very/Really”: Synonyms of とても (totemo)