How to say "awful" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 凄まじいすさまじいi-adjectiveCovers 'awful' in the sense of overwhelmingly intense or violent: a dreadful storm, a terrible crash, a horrific scene. It stresses sheer force and severity rather than personal displeasure.
- i-adjectiveFor 'awful' describing taste: food or drink that tastes bad or unpalatable. When you want to say a dish is awful, this is the word; it is usually written in kana.
- i-adjectiveSlang for 'awful', 'terrible' or 'crap': the casual word of relaxed conversation, covering anything from a terrible movie to awful traffic. Keep it to informal speech rather than formal writing.
- 最悪さいあくna-adjective, interjectionColloquial 'awful' with the flavour of 'the worst', its literal meaning: an awful day, horrible weather, or the exclamation that things could not be worse.
- pre-noun adjectivalCovers 'awful' for a serious, unwelcome mishap such as a terrible mistake or misfortune. It modifies a noun directly, describing the mishap itself.
Use 「凄まじい」 for awful intensity or violence, 「まずい」 for awful taste, 「やばい」 as casual slang, 最悪 when something is 'the worst', and 「とんだ」 for a serious mishap described before a noun.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
- 凄まじいすさまじいterrible
- まずいbad(-tasting)
- しどいawful
- 憎たらしいにくたらしいodious
- こっぴどい(really) terrible
- 酸鼻さんびappalling
- どうもこうもないterrible
- 恐ろしげおそろしげfrightening
- やばいawful
- 最低さいていawful
- えらいawful
- ひどいvery bad
- 魔まdreaded
- 最悪さいあくhorrible
- とんだterrible
- ものすごいfrightful
- やばすawful
- 仕方のないしかたのないhopeless (person)
- くそterrible
- 仕方ないしかたないhopeless (person)
- さっぱりnothing at all
- 仕方がないしかたがないhopeless (person)
- しょうがないhopeless (person)
- 致し方ないいたしかたないhopeless (person)
See also
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