In English, it’s fairly common to use emojis to express your feelings in text. This is also the case in Japanese, which is quite evident given that the term “emoji” is loaned from the Japanese word 絵文字 (emoji) in the first place.
In addition to the emojis, the Japanese language also has another type of expressions that helps you deliver your feelings in a chat. These expressions are written in parentheses and put at the end of a sentence or phrase; the most popular one is probably “(笑)”, which is often translated as “lol” in English. This post provides you with a list of such bracketed expressions and explains how to use them in context!
Table of Contents
（笑）
Reading: (kakko) wara/warai
It stands for “笑い (warai)”, meaning “a laugh”, and is nearly equivalent to “lol” in English. These days, it is also common to omit the parentheses, i.e. “笑”, or use the left parenthesis only, i.e. “(笑”.
Example
え、ありがとう笑
Oh, thanks (lol)
あいつには無理（むり）だろ（笑）
That’d be impossible for him/her (lol)
（爆）
Reading: baku
It stands for 爆笑 (bakushou), meaning “laugh so hard”. Therefore, it is stronger than (笑) and the closest English term is probably “lmao”. However, very few people use it nowadays and it’s getting out of date.
Example
え、そんなこと言ったっけ？全部忘れた (爆)
What, did I say such a thing? I forgot everything (lmao)
（）
Reading: None
Yes, this is not a typo; just parentheses without any word in between. This “term” originates from (笑) by omitting 笑 instead of the parentheses, and it is usually used when you ridicule or sneer at someone, or when you self-deprecate yourself (see the examples below). It is usually also put after either a sentence or word/phrase that you want to show contempt for.
Note, however, that, since it is sort of a “deep” internet slang term, some people (esp. old generations) may not understand it whatsoever. Therefore, you probably want to limit its use on social media or online forums only, or when you text a very close friend who has a good understanding of those kinds of slang terms.
Examples
天使（てんし）すぎるアイドル()
an idol who is too —wait for it— “angelic”
この本（ほん）を読（よ）めば三日（みっか）で日本語（にほんご）をマスター()できるらしい
If you read this book, apparently you can “master” Japanese in three days.
今日（きょう）テストあるの完全（かんぜん）に忘（わす）れてた()
I completely forgot that I had an exam today (haha…)
（棒）
Reading: bou
Example
（当社比）
Reading: toushahi
It literally means “this company ratio” and is usually used when a company announces some positive change/improvement over its previous products/services. As slang, it also means “compared to the usual/old me” and is often used when you talk about the self-improvement/positive thing you did while clarifying that it is relative to you rather than absolute.
Examples
通常の容器と比べ、プラスチック使用量を５０％削減することができました（当社比）
Compared to standard containers (in comparison to our previous products), we were able to decrease the amount of plastic consumption by 50%.
今日早起きした (当社比)
I woke up early today (earlier than my usual time)
（白目）
Reading: shirome
白目 literally means “white eye(s)” and often indicates (figuratively) that your eyes are rolled up because you are completely drained of energy and spirit. Therefore, when （白目） is put at the end of a sentence, that means the person is in an extremely problematic situation. Usually, it is used with a positive word/phrase that jokes about one’s hapless situation in a self-deprecating way (see the examples below).
Examples
来週テストが5個もあるとか、超楽しみだ（白目）
Because I have five exams next week, I’m really looking forward to it (eyes rolled up)
今日会社クビになったから、明日からめっちゃゲームする時間があるな〜（白目）
Since I got fired today, I’ll have plenty of time to do games from tomorrow (eyes rolled up).
* In Japanese, the emoji with halo 😇 is often used in a similar way to （白目）. This is because we regard this emoji as a dead person rather than an angel or symbol of innocence.
(e.g.)
明日は朝5時に起きないといけない😇
Tomorrow, I have to wake up at 5 in the morning 😇 (I’m so dead).
（怒）
Reading: ikari
It stands for 怒り (ikari, “anger”) and is mostly equivalent to the angry emoji 😡
（泣）
Reading: naki
It stands for 泣き (naki, “crying”) and is mostly equivalent to the crying emojis 😂 or 😭.
（汗）
Reading: ase
汗 means “sweat” and is mostly equivalent to sweat emojis 😅 or 💦 (yes, we think it’s sweat and not something else).
（略）
Reading: ryaku
It stands for 省略 (shouraku), meaning “abbreviation/omission”, and is used when you omit something in a text. In this sense, it is very similar to an ellipsis mark or three dots (…) in English. It’s more formally written as （以下略）(ika ryaku) meaning “omitting the rest”. In a formal context, it is used just to omit irrelevant parts and make a document easier to read. In a casual context, it is used when you avoid explicitly mentioning something (e.g. swearing) that is easily guessed from the context.
On the internet forums such as 5ch, people used to use “(ry” as a further abbreviated expression of (以下略), but it’s getting outdated nowadays.
Example
私の上司、私のこといつも批判してきて、マジ（以下略）
My boss is always criticising me and he is so (the rest omitted)
See also
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