Warui is the Japanese i-adjective for ‘bad’, explained

What does “warui” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “warui” often to mean ‘bad’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this i-adjective as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain it in detail based on its kanji character. And also, I will explain its major conjugations together with example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners use “warui” more properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “warui”
• What does “warui” literally mean in Japanese?
  • Example #1: how to say “bad” in Japanese
• Warukunai: the nai form of “warui”
  • Example #2: how to say “not bad” in Japanese
• Warukatta: the ta form of “warui”
  • Example #3: how to say “was bad” in Japanese
• Warukute: the te form of “warui”
  • Example #4: how to say “bad and” in Japanese
• Warukereba: the ba form of “warui”
  • Example #5: how to say “if bad” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “warui”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “warui”.

• warui – 悪い (わるい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘bad’ in Japanese. Depending on the context and situation, this can also mean ‘evil’, ‘poor’, or ‘wrong’.

Again, but native speakers use this i-adjective often to mean ‘bad’ in Japanese. It’s also worth mentioning here that they sometimes use this especially in speaking to mean ‘sorry, my bad’ in Japanese.

The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. To understand this i-adjective more deeply, however, let me explain its kanji character in detail.

What does “warui” literally mean in Japanese?

The kanji character of “warui” consists of the following two parts:

• 亜 : a kanji character used to mean ‘incomplete’ or such in Japanese. This can also work as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘semi’ or such in Japanese.
• 心 : a kanji character used to mean ‘heart’, ‘mind’, or ‘feeling’ in Japanese.

These two parts tell us that “warui” literally means an ‘incomplete heart’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not in line with the actual meaning, but still understandable, I think. In Japanese, incomplete hearts can be considered as things that lead to bad deeds.

When we meet new kanji characters, we should check their parts in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji parts tell us a lot about the meanings of the characters they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “warui” through the detailed check above.

Then, let me explain how to use “warui” through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “bad” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kinou – 昨日 (きのう) : a noun meaning ‘yesterday’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb at the beginning of the sentence to say “yesterday” in Japanese.
• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi” to make the subject in the sentence.
• yume – 夢 (ゆめ) : a noun meaning ‘dream’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “warui yume” to make the object in the sentence.
• mi – 見 (み) : one conjugation of the verb, “miru“, which means ‘to see’, ‘to look’, ‘to watch’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “mi” to make its past tense form, “mi ta”.

This is a typical usage of “warui”. In this example, it works as the modifier in front of “yume” to mean a ‘bad dream’ in Japanese. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a complement in a sentence.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “warui” and how to use it through the example sentence. In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain its major conjugations. The first one is “warukunai”.

Warukunai: the nai form of “warui”

Below are the definition and meanings of “warukunai”.

• warukunai – 悪くない (わるくない) : the nai form of “warui”, which means ‘not bad’, ‘not evil’, ‘not poor’, or ‘not wrong’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “warukunai” consists of the following two parts:

• waruku – 悪く (わるく) : one conjugation of “warui”. This can have a smooth connection with “nai”.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is similar to that of “not”.

From these two parts, we can understand that “warukunai” is literally the nai form of “warui” and means ‘not bad’ or such in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “not bad” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to make its possessive case, “kanojo no”, which means ‘her’ in Japanese.
• nihongo – 日本語 (にほんご) : a noun meaning ‘Japanese’ or ‘the Japanese language’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “warukunai”. When we want to say “not bad” in Japanese, this nai form is a good option.

Warukatta: the ta form of “warui”

Below are the definition and meanings of “warukatta”.

• warukatta – 悪かった (わるかった) : the ta form of “warui”, which means ‘was bad’, ‘was evil’, ‘was poor’, ‘was wrong’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “warukatta” consists of the following two parts:

• warukat – 悪かっ (わるかっ) : one conjugation of “warui”. This can have a smooth connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “warukatta” is literally the past tense form of “warui” and means ‘was bad’ or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “was bad” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• tenki – 天気 (てんき) : a noun meaning ‘weather’ in Japanese.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “tenki” to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “warukatta”. When we want to use the past tense form of “warui”, this ta form is the best option.

Warukute: the te form of “warui”

Below are the definition and meanings of “warukute”.

• warukute – 悪くて (わるくて) : the te form of “warui”, which means ‘bad’, ‘evil’, ‘poor’, or ‘wrong’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “warukute” consists of the following two parts:

• waruku – 悪く (わるく) : one conjugation of “warui”. This can have a smooth connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “warukute” is literally the te form of “warui”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “warukute” is very useful when we want to use “warui” in front of another adjective, a verb, or an auxiliary verb. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to say “bad and” in Japanese

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• samui – 寒い (さむい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘cold’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “warukute”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with “samui”. When we want to use “warui” in front of another adjective like this, its te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.

Warukereba: the ba form of “warui”

Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “warukereba”.

• warukereba – 悪ければ (わるければ) : the ba form of “warui”, which can make a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘bad’, ‘evil’, ‘poor’, or ‘wrong’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “warukereba” consists of the following two parts:

• warukere – 悪けれ (わるけれ) : one conjugation of “warui”. This can have a smooth connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “warukereba” is literally the ba form of “warui”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “warukereba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘bad’ or such. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to say “if bad” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• oshie – 教え (おしえ) : one conjugation of the verb, “oshieru“, which means ‘to teach’, ‘to tell’, or ‘to let someone know’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : the same as used in “warukute”. In this example, this is used after “oshie” to make its te form. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “kudasai”.
• kudasai – ください : one conjugation of the verb, “kudasaru”, which means ‘to give’ or such in Japanese. When this follows a verb, however, this can work like an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’. In the example, this works like an auxiliary verb after “oshie te” to add the meaning of ‘please’.

This is a typical usage of “warukereba”. In the example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “tenki ga warukereba”, which means ‘if the weather is bad’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘bad’, this ba form is a good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “warui” together with its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• warui – 悪い (わるい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘bad’ in Japanese. Depending on the context and situation, this can also mean ‘evil’, ‘poor’, or ‘wrong’. This can work as both a modifier and a complement. It’s also worth mentioning here that they sometimes use this especially in speaking to mean ‘sorry, my bad’ in Japanese.
• warukunai – 悪くない (わるくない) : the nai form of “warui”, which means ‘not bad’, ‘not evil’, ‘not poor’, or ‘not wrong’ in Japanese.
• warukatta – 悪かった (わるかった) : the ta form of “warui”, which means ‘was bad’, ‘was evil’, ‘was poor’, ‘was wrong’, or such in Japanese. This is the past tense form of “warui”.
• warukute – 悪くて (わるくて) : the te form of “warui”, which means ‘bad’, ‘evil’, ‘poor’, or ‘wrong’ in Japanese. When we want to use “warui” in front of another adjective, this te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
• warukereba – 悪ければ (わるければ) : the ba form of “warui”, which can make a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘bad’, ‘evil’, ‘poor’, or ‘wrong’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.