Japanese Slang 誤爆 (gobaku) Meaning “Wrong Chat”

Pronunciation

Definition

誤爆 (ごばく, gobaku) is a Japanese slang term that describes the act of inadvertently sending a message to a wrong chat/person. 誤爆 is also something you say after you text a wrong person, like “oops, wrong chat”. This fiasco usually takes place on a messaging app like LINE/Messenger, and the accident on LINE is called “LINE 誤爆”. It can also happen on Twitter if you have multiple accounts and behave like a different person in each account. A common example of “Twitter 誤爆” is when famous people inadvertently post their private and shocking tweet (e.g. photos of their secret partner) on their official account instead of their private (and usually covert) one.

誤爆 on Purpose

It is said that some people do “fake 誤爆” to express their feelings for their crush. For instance, if you have a crush on a girl named Ana, you may send her a “wrong chat” like “I’m so in love with Ana! Do you know what she thinks about me?”, pretending that you’ve “accidentally” sent the message to her instead of your friend. Although some websites recommend this type of 誤爆 as an “effective approach” to get your crush interested in you, clearly many people will find it quite obvious, awkward and pathetic.

Original Meaning of 誤爆

Originally, 誤爆 means “(something) accidentally explodes” or “to accidentally explode/bomb something”. The first kanji “誤ご” (go) means “error/mistake”, and the second one “爆ばく” (baku) means “explosion”.

Example Sentences

Ex1:
LINEで誤爆してめちゃ恥はずかしかった
I texted a wrong person on LINE. It was so embarrassing.

Ex2:
あの女性じょせいアイドルがTwitterで誤爆して彼氏かれしの写真しゃしんをアップしてしまった
The female idol accidentally uploaded the photos of her boyfriend using a wrong account on Twitter.

Ex3

(when you text a wrong person)
あなた: 明日暇あしたひま？
あなた: 誤爆した
YOU: Hey, are you free tomorrow?
YOU: Oops, wrong chat

Ex4:
手榴弾しゅりゅうだんが車くるまの中なかで誤爆した
A grenade has accidentally exploded inside the car.

Ex5:
我々われわれの船ふねを敵てきと間違まちがえて誤爆してしまった
We’ve accidentally bombed our ships, which we mistakenly recognized as the enemy’s.

Synonyms: None
Synonyms in English: wrong chat/person
Related words and phrases: 爆発ばくはつ (explosion)