General Slang
やばい (yabai): This is probably the most commonly used Japanese slang word in the language. It has several different meanings, ranging from "good," "awesome," and "amazing" to "bad," "crappy," "terrible," and even "dangerous." Essentially, it can be used to describe both good and bad things.
半端ない(hanpa nai): When you want to stick to the positive side of things, try this slang word. It means"wild" or "awesome."
オッス！(ossu!) In English slang among certain crowds, you might hear someone say, "What's up, dude?" or "Yo!" This is the Japanese equivalent of this casual greeting.
キモい (kimoi) This is a short-hand way of saying 気持ち悪い (kimochi warui), which you would say when something (or someone) gives you a bad feeling, repulses you, or just feels off. キモい is more reserved for repulsion. It's often used to mean "gross" or "disgusting." You may also hear it as a stand-alone word, like when someone is saying, "Ew!"
ウザい (uzai) Japanese people use this if they want to say that someone is "annoyingly noisy" or "loud." It's often used to talk about frustration with a situation or person, but in some situations it's used to refer to someone as being "gloomy."
ムカつく (mukatsuku) Alternatively, you can use this slang word. It's the Japanese equivalent of "irritating" or "pissed off." You can also use it as a complaint when something annoys you.
ずるい (zurui) This is commonly used when you want to say that something is "unfair" or someone is being "sneaky." However, it may be used in a way that includes a bit of admiration for their slyness. It can also be used to tell someone, "You suck!"
イケメン (ikemen) Want to know how to call a man the equivalent of "tall, dark, and handsome?" This is the word for you. It's used to talk about good-looking boys or men.
微妙 (bimyō) This is used to describe something "meh" or "questionable." For example, if you go to see a new movie and you neither love it nor hate it, this is the perfect word to describe its mediocrity.
ダサい (dasai) This is similar to the English word "uncool." It's like a younger person telling their parents they're being uncool or "cringe."
おしゃれ (oshare) To call someone fashionable, you can use this slang. It can also be used to say something is trendy.
わりーね (warii ne) After a small altercation or miscommunication with a friend, you might want to casually apologize without getting too deep. If so, you can use this slang for "my bad."
奴 (yatsu) This is a rude way of referring to someone and is considered an insult in standard Japanese. Never use it with elders, superiors, or strangers!
アマ (ama) Another slang word that shouldn't be thrown around often is アマ, which means "bitch" and is usually reserved for women. It's considered a Japanese swear word and alsoo quite derogatory.
おつ (otsu) When you want to thank someone for their hard work or tell them they did a good job, this is the word for you. It can also be written in kanji as 乙. There are several ways to say thank you in Japanese, but this is a good option for informal settings.
羽ばたいている (habataiteru) — Cool
好ハオ (sukihao) — Like
かわちぃ (kawachii) — cute
ちょえ (choe) — wait!
てぇてぇ (tētē) — valuable or precious
Texting Slang
かえるかげんしょ：Japanese equivalent of an ick; literally-turning into a frog W (or WW) (or WWWW): Japanese online equivalent of lol: to laugh “w” or 笑 is the shortened form of 笑う (warau) and it means “to laugh.” It’s usually used at the end of a sentence. 笑 is a more mature way of saying this and “w” is often used by guys. Since “to laugh” is one of the most useful Japanese text slang terms, there are many similar words. For example, “www” means “lol” in English. Sometimes, people use more w’s as in “wwwww” to express how hard they’re laughing. 草 (kusa)—to express their laughter. 草 (kusa) means “grasses” and they use this character because “w” looks like grass growing in the ground. The word 爆(baku) or 爆 (baku) is short for 爆笑 (bakushō) meaning “to burst out laughing.” そんなことない: A phrase used to dismiss or refute a statement that someone finds hard to believe or disagrees with 乙 (otsu) Meaning: good job; good work 乙 (otsu) is the shortest text slang for お疲れ様です (otsukare sama desu) or “Thank you for your hard work.” This is the Common Japanese slang phrase to use when thanking someone for their hard work or good work. Japanese people use it very often, even as just a way of a greeting, like “Hi!” There are some other short ways of saying お疲れ様です (otsukare sama desu): お疲れ様 (otsukare sama) おつかれ (otsukare) The shorter word is the more informal way of saying this. The kanji 乙 doesn’t have the meaning of お疲れ様です, but people use it anyway because the pronunciation is おつ (otsu). 888 (pachi-pachi-pachi) Meaning: clap, clap, clap The sound of a number of “8”s is はち (hachi) or ぱち (pachi) in Japanese and the sound of clapping hands is パチパチパチ (pachi-pachi-pachi). Therefore, the sound of “8” and the sound of clapping hands are the same. It’s usually used with three characters of 8, like “888.” If you want to denote more clapping, you can write more 8’s like “88888.” orz Meaning: disappointment The word “orz” is an ASCII art which represents the shape of a person bowing down, showing a feeling of disappointment. The letter of “o” is a head, “r” is hand and body, and “z” is the bent legs. Since this is an ASCII art, there’s no fixed way of reading “orz.” Some people read it as オーズ (ōzu) and others as オルツ (orutsu). Same meaning: crz; OTL; or2; on_
Loan Word Slang
ディスる (disuru): "ディスる (disuru)" is an expression used to deny or criticize someone. It is considered to be a verbalization of the English negative prefix "dis-." Example: 後輩こうはいにディスられてめっちゃショックだった。(Kōhai-ni disurarete meccha shokku-datta.) Meaning: I was devastated when my junior dissed me. バグる (baguru) It derives from the English word "(computer) bug / glitch" and is used to mean that a device (such as a computer) malfunctioned. The word "bug" originally meant a defect in a program, but "バグる (baguru; buggy)" is often used simply when a device malfunctions or stops working unexpectedly. It can also be used as a metaphor for someone's contradictory behavior. Example: あれ、パソコンが急きゅうにバグった！(Are, pasokon-ga kyū-ni bagutta!) Meaning: Oh no, my computer suddenly got buggy! バズる (bazuru) The word "バズ (bazu)" comes from the English word "buzz," which means to gain attention and be shared rapidly by a large number of people. When a social media post goes viral and becomes a trending topic, such as receiving 10,000 retweets on Twitter or a million views on TikTok, it is safe to say that the post has "バズった (bazutta; gone viral)." Example: 友達ともだちが上あげた動画どうががバズっている。(Tomodachi-ga ageta dōga-ga bazutteiru.) Meaning: The video that my friend uploaded went viral. ミスる (misuru) This is a verb form of the English word "miss." This term means "to fail" or "to make a mistake." Example: ミスった！アラームをセットするの、忘わすれてた！(Misutta! Arāmu-wo setto-suruno, wasureta!) Meaning: Darn it! I forgot to set my alarm! じわる (jiwaru) This is derived from the onomatopoeia "じわじわ (jiwa jiwa)," which is used to mean that something "gradually becomes funnier," or "it takes time for the joke to sink in." "Jiwa jiwa" is an onomatopoeia that describes the slow and steady progress of something. It can be used as in "借金しゃっきんがじわじわと増ふえる (shakkin-ga jiwajiwa-to fueru; my debt has been slowly increasing)" or "薬くすりがじわじわと効きいてきた (kusuri-ga jiwajiwa-to kiitekita; the medication is gradually kicking in)." Example: この画像がぞう、じわる。(Kono gazō, jiwaru.) Meaning: This meme is hilarious. ぐちる (guchiru) This is pronounced as "ぐちる (guchiru)." "愚痴 (guchi)" is a noun meaning to complain about something that can not be helped, and the verb form of this word is "愚痴ぐちる (guchiru)." The correct way to use this word is "愚痴ぐちを言いう (guchi-wo iu; to complain about something)" or "愚痴ぐちをこぼす (guchi-wo kobosu; to whine/grumble about something)," but the term "愚痴ぐちる (guchiru)" is used by a fairly wide range of age groups. It is used in the same sense as "文句もんくや不満ふまんを言いう (monku-ya fuman-wo iu; to whine or grumble about something)." Example: 彼女かのじょは、会あうたびに愚痴ぐちってばかりいる。(Kanojo-wa, autabi-ni guchitte bakari-iru.) Meaning: Whenever I see her, she's always complaining about something. 映ばえる (baeru) This is pronounced as "baeru." The original pronunciation of this verb is "haeru," which means to catch attention or to stand apart from something in a positive way. It is used as in: "紺こんのスーツにネクタイがよく映はえる (kon-no sūtsu-ni nekutai-ga haeru; Your tie looks great against your navy blue suit)." Then came Instagram, and the popularity of posting beautiful and picturesque photos led to the emergence of the new term, "インスタ映ばえ (insuta-bae)." It is often used to describe a fantastic landscape or situation in which you can take pictures that are likely to get lots of attention and "likes" on Instagram. The word "インスタ映ばえ" was selected as the "Buzzword of the Year" in 2017. From there, the verb "映え (bae)" also came to be pronounced as "ばえる (baeru)" mainly amongst young people. Example: このお店みせの料理りょうり、映ばえる！見みた目めがおしゃれだね。(Kono omise-no ryōri, baeru! Mitame-ga oshare-dane.) Meaning: The food in this restaurant looks so Instagenic! It looks so fancy.