This article introduces Japanese slang words that have weird and specific meanings! Since the slang words explained in this article are very “deep”, you’d astonish Japanese people using those words! On the other hand, due to its “deepness”, some people especially elderly people may not know some of them.
Basically, this post summarises the other individual posts introducing each word, and you can refer to them for the pronunciation, example sentences and more detailed information (e.g., related word, origin)!
Table of Contents
1. 雰囲気イケメン
Definition
雰囲気イケメン (ふいんきいけめん, fuinki ikemen) literally means ‘vibe-handsome’, and figuratively means “quasi-handsome” – a guy who looks handsome at a first glance, but with a closer look, he has a ‘handsome vibe’ only, not a good-looking face. Although it may sound like a derogatory term, it can actually be positive, especially for guys who want to be called イケメン (“handsome”) by any means.
Original Post
雰囲気イケメン (fuinki.ikemen): ‘Handsome-Vibe Men’ in Japanese Slang
2. 死亡フラグ
Definition
死亡フラグ (しぼうふらぐ, shibou furagu) literarily means “death flag”. It describes a clichéd event or line in a fictional story which foreshadows someone’s death in the near future. The most common “death flag” is probably the following line said by a soldier: “この戦い/戦争が終わったら彼女と結婚するんだ” meaning “I will marry her after this battle/war is over”, which suggests that he will never return alive from his fight/duty.
Original Post
死亡フラグ (“Death Flag”): Clichéd Line Foreshadowing Your Death
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3. 深夜テンション
Definition
深夜テンション (しんやてんしょん, shinya tenshon) means “midnight high” i.e., the phenomenon when you feel very high and bold late at night even without drugs or alcohol. Because of this “midnight high”, many people end up doing something they regret the next morning, like sending an overly emotional and cringy text like “I can’t help thinking about you” to one’s crush/friend.
Original Post
深夜テンション (shinyatenshon): “Midnight High” in Japanese Slang
4. 黒歴史
Definition
黒歴史 (くろれきし, kuro rekishi) literally means “black history”, and indicates humiliating and excruciating memories in the past that you are desperate to hide and forget. For instance, if you asked out ten classmates at high school on the same day and got rejected by all of them, that’d be your “black (dark) history”.
Original Post
黒歴史 (kurorekishi): ‘Humiliating Memories in the Past’ in Japanese Slang
5. 公開処刑
Definition
Originally, 公開処刑 (こうかいしょけい, koukai syokei) means ‘public execution’, which obviously no longer exists in almost all counties. Nowadays, the word is more often used as a slang term and illustrates a humiliating situation where flaws of your appearance are amplified in contrast to the other people around you. For instance, if a chubby person is surrounded by a plethora of slender people in a photo, he/she would find the situation as “(mental) publish execution”.
Original Post
公開処刑 (Koukaishokei): “Mental Public Execution” in Japanese Slang
6. 高校デビュー
Definition
高校デビュー (koukou.debyū) literally means “high school debut”. Figuratively, it describes introverted people who try to change themselves dramatically and become social people when they get into high school. Some people successfully reinvent themselves and fly up the social ladder at school, while others fail to keep up the masquerade and fall back to the bottom of the social hierarchy. A lot of people attempt to make a “debut” at high school because people usually part ways with their old schoolmates once they enter high school.
Original Post
高校デビュー (koukoudebyū): Japanese Slang ‘High School Debut’
Popular Posts
7. 思い出補正
Definition
思い出補正 (おもいでほせい, omoide hosei) indicates the glorification of one’s past memories. Because of this, many people overestimate things or people in the past, regarding them as better than what they actually were. For instance, many people believe that their first love would have been far more handsome/beautiful than they actually were, and end up being disillusioned when they meet up for the first time in years.
Original Post
思い出補正 (omoide hosei): Japanese Slang ‘Glorification of Your Past Memories’
8. ブーメラン
Definition
ブーメラン (būmeran) is a loanword from “boomerang” in English. However in Japanese, not only describing the Australian popular souvenir, but it also indicates a hypocritical criticism that makes you feel like saying ‘Look who’s talking!’. For instance, if someone who is always late for meetings reprimands their colleagues/subordinates for being late, that’s a typical “boomerang”. This kind of criticism is called “boomerang”, as after being thrown at others, it comes back to the criticiser like a boomerang.
Original Post
ブーメラン (Boomerang) as Internet Slang Meaning ‘hypocritical statement’
9. 自粛警察
Definition
“自粛警察 (じしゅくけいさつ, jishuku keisatsu)” literally means “self-restraint police”, a brand new slang term that has been coined during the COVID-19 pandemic. It ironically describes sanctimonious people who conduct a “patrol” scrupulously either online or offline and revile random people or organisations that do not follow jishuku, i.e., “self-restraint”, such as wearing a mask, refraining from going outside and closing one’s izakaya (Japanese-style bars). In extreme cases, they go so far as to put up notes on storefronts that request the stores close down, which are utterly irrational and illegal and cannot be justified by any means.
Original Post
自粛警察 (jishukukeisatsu): Japan’s “Self-Restraint Police” Explained
10. 遠慮のかたまり
Definition
遠慮のかたまり (えんりょのかたまり, enryo no katamari) is a deep slang word in the Kansai dialect which indicates a last piece of food on a shared plate by multiple people. In other words, it describes the last portion on a plate that people feel hesitant to reach for because they don’t want to be seen greedy (e.g.) a last slice of pizza on a plate.
Original Post
遠慮の塊 (Enryonokatamari): ‘A Last Piece of a Shared Dish’ in Kansai Dialect
11. 賢者タイム
Definition
賢者タイム (けんじゃたいむ, kenja taimu) literally means “sage time”, and figuratively illustrates the particular situation when any male person becomes very calm and free from worldly pleasure, like a sage.
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