Showing posts with label Japanese grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japanese grammar. Show all posts

Sunday, July 24, 2011

How to say "p.s. you suck" in Japanese

This post will focus on two very interesting vocabulary items in Japanese; I call them "p.s. you suck" suffixes, though I'm sure there is a better word to describe them.
Adding a め to a noun insults the noun it is suffixed to:

  • 馬鹿め!["baka-me", idiot!]
  • この小娘め!["kono komusume-me!", stupid girl!]
  • 太郎め! ["Tarou-me!", dang Tarou!]

The verb ["yagaru"] attaches to the base II or connective form of verbs and adds the same feeling as the め suffix:

  • 覚えてやがれ!["oboeteyagare!", remember this you fool!]
  • 罠にかかりやがって... ["wana ni kakariyagatte...", getting caught in a trap, you're so stupid.]
  • 何を言いやがるんだ! ["nani o iiyagarunda!", what the heck are you saying?!]

Both of these forms are used when yelling at or cursing some entity.
I personally don't use them a lot, but they are very common in anime, probably because of the dramatic nature. Here's an example for やがる. It's the last word the villain says (besides きら, a sparkly sound akin to "bwing" or "bling"). Note that the subtitle should be "Remember this!", not "I'll remember this!".