What does “warukuchi” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “warukuchi” often to mean ‘trash talk’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “warukuchi” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “warukuchi”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “warukuchi”.
- warukuchi – 悪口 (わるくち) : a noun meaning ‘trash talk’, ‘bad mouth’, or such in Japanese.
Japanese native speakers use this noun to refer to what someone rudely or offensively says about someone else. So, the usage is similar to those of the English words above, I think.
The definition and meanings are simple and clear. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Warukuchi in kanji
The kanji expression of “warukuchi” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 悪 : a kanji character used to mean ‘bad’ in Japanese.
- 口 : a kanji character used to mean ‘mouth’ in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that the formed noun literally means a ‘bad mouth’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is very close to the actual meanings, I think.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “warukuchi” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “warukuchi” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “trash talk” in Japanese
kanojo wa warukuchi ga suki desu – 彼女は悪口が好きです (かのじょはわるくちがすきです)
She loves trash talk.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
- 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 “warukuchi” to make the object in the sentence.
- suki – 好き (すき) : the stem part of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Native speakers, however, often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, this is used to mean ‘to love’.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “suki” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “warukuchi”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “ga”, to become the object in the sentence.
Example #2: another usage of “warukuchi”
tokuni otto no warukuchi ga suki desu – 特に夫の悪口が好きです (とくにおっとのわるくちがすきです)
She loves trash talk especially about her husband.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- tokuni – 特に (とくに) : an adverb meaning ‘especially’ or such in Japanese.
- otto – 夫 (おっと) : a noun meaning ‘husband’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- no – の : a case particle joining two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this works to join “otto” and “warukuchi”. The formed phrase literally means ‘trash talk about a husband’ in Japanese.
This is another typical usage of “warukuchi”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “otto no warukuchi”, which means ‘trash talk about her husband’ in Japanese. When we want to mean ‘trash talk’ in Japanese, anyway, this noun is a good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “warukuchi” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- warukuchi – 悪口 (わるくち) : a noun meaning ‘trash talk’, ‘bad mouth’, or such in Japanese. Japanese native speakers use this noun to refer to what someone rudely or offensively says about someone else. These two kanji characters literally mean a ‘bad mouth’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is very close to the actual meanings, I think.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
