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| Expression | Reading | Meaning | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ギャグ | ぎゃぐ | gag; joke | そのギャグ、ちょっと寒いね。 | That joke is a little lame. |
| キュン | きゅん | a heart-fluttering feeling; swoon | その笑顔にキュンとした。 | That smile made my heart flutter. |
| キュン死 | きゅんし | overwhelmed by something adorable; heart-stoppingly cute | あの子犬、かわいすぎてキュン死しそう。 | That puppy is so cute I could die from it. |
| キョロ充 | きょろじゅう | someone awkwardly looking around for company | あのキョロ充、また誰か探してる。 | That person who can't be alone is looking for someone again. |
| キレる | きれる | to snap; to lose one's temper | 彼はすぐキレる。 | He snaps easily. |
| クーデレ | くーでれ | a character who is cool but secretly affectionate | 彼はクーデレなタイプだ。 | He's the cool-but-secretly-affectionate type. |
| ググる | guguru | to Google something | わからないことはすぐググる。 | I Google things I don’t understand right away. |
| グダグダ | ぐだぐだ | messy; dragging on; rambling | 会議がグダグダだった。 | The meeting was a mess. |
| グロい | ぐろい | gross; grotesque | あの映画はグロいです。 | That movie is gross. |
| ゲームオタ | geemu ota | game nerd; gaming otaku | 弟はゲームオタで、新しいゲームに詳しい。 | My younger brother is a game nerd and knows a lot about new games. |
| シュール | しゅーる | surreal; weird in an amusing way | その動画、シュールで笑った。 | That video was surreal, and I laughed. |
| シラフ | しらふ | sober; not drunk | 今日はシラフで帰った。 | I went home sober today. |
| しんどい | shindoi | exhausting; rough; hard | 今日は仕事が多くてしんどい。 | I have a lot of work today, and it’s exhausting. |
| しんどっ | shindo | ugh, that's rough; so exhausting | 朝からずっと立ちっぱなしで、しんどっ。 | I’ve been standing all morning. Ugh, that’s rough. |
| ズッ友 | ずっとも | best friends forever | 私たちはズッ友だよ。 | We're best friends forever. |
| セクハラ | せくはら | sexual harassment | その発言はセクハラだよ。 | That comment is sexual harassment. |
| セフレ | せふれ | friends with benefits | あの二人はセフレらしい。 | I heard those two are friends with benefits. |
| それな | それな | I know, right? / Exactly | それな | I know, right? / Exactly |
| ダサい | dasai | uncool; lame | その服、ちょっとダサいね。 | Those clothes are a little lame. |
| ダチ | だち | buddy; pal | あいつは昔からのダチだ。 | He's a buddy I've known for a long time. |
| だっせえ | dassee | lame; uncool | その服、ちょっとだっせえね。 | Those clothes are kind of lame. |
| タピる | tapiru | to get bubble tea | 放課後にタピる? | Want to get bubble tea after school? |
| だるい | だるい | tired; annoying; can’t be bothered | 今日はだるいな。 | I feel sluggish today. |
| だるっ | daru | ugh, annoying; so tiring | また残業?だるっ。 | Overtime again? Ugh, so tiring. |
| チルい | chirui | chill; relaxed | このカフェ、チルいね。 | This cafe is chill. |
Free Japanese Slang for Beginners PDF and Flashcard Downloads
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