Japanese Slang するする詐欺 (suru suru sagi, “do do fraud”)

Definition

In Japanese, するする詐欺 (suru-suru sagi) — or やるやる詐欺 (yaru-yaru sagi) — literally means “do-do fraud”. Figuratively, it means that someone repeatedly says they will do something and do nothing. In other words, it describes the behaviour of people who are all talk and no action. The duplication of the verb emphasises that one has promised to do something multiple times without taking any action.

Note that する (suru) or やる (yaru) in this expression can be replaced by any verb depending on the context (e.g. 仕事辞める辞める詐欺, “I’m-gonna-quit-quit-my-job fraud”); see more examples at the bottom.

Usage

This slang expression can be used for something either trivial or nontrivial. For instance, if you promise that you will propose to your partner “someday” but never take any action, that’s pretty much “結婚けっこんするする詐欺” (kekkon suru-suru sagi), meaning “do-do-marriage fraud”. Likewise, if you promise that you will do your homework soon and keep playing video games, that’s a typical “宿題しゅくだいやるやる詐欺” (shukudai yaru-yaru sagi), “do-do-homework fraud” committed by school kids.

Related Word: オレオレ詐欺 (ore-ore sagi)

Incidentally, オレオレ詐欺 (ore-ore sagi) is one of the most notorious frauds in Japan that are mainly targeted at elderly people. In this expression, オレ (俺 in kanji) means “I” or “me”. Therefore, “ore-ore sagi” literally means “me-me fraud” and refers to the phone scam in which a scammer starts the conversation by saying “Hi, it’s me”, pretending to be a son or daughter of the targeted person. Typically, the swindlers plead with their “parents” to send them money, saying they need a certain amount of money immediately because they accidentally got into financial trouble.

Example Sentences

お前まえのお金かね返かえす返かえす詐欺にはもうウンザリだ
I’m fed up with your “pay-back-pay-back-money fraud”
= He promised many times he would pay me back but never did.

あの銀行、潰れる潰れる詐欺をしているだけと思ったら、本当に潰れてしまった！
I thought the bank was just doing “collapse collapse fraud” but it actually collapsed!