How to say "naughty" in Japanese

• わんぱくCommon
  na-adjective, nounCovers a child's naughty behavior in the sense of boisterous and unruly: a lively kid who roughhouses, will not sit still, and will not mind. The naughtiness is high-spirited rather than mean.
  あのわんぱく小僧こぞうのいたずらには閉口へいこうする。↗

  That naughty boy annoys me by his pranks.
• 行けないいけないJLPT N3approx.Common
  expression, i-adjectiveEssentially 'bad; wrong'; it gives 'naughty' only when an adult scolds a child — the 'Naughty!' said when a child does something bad. Outside such scolding it is not the word you want.
• いたずらJLPT N3approx.Common
  na-adjectiveCovers the prank-pulling side of 'naughty': a child who plays tricks, teases, or gets into mischief. The naughtiness here is playful trickery rather than genuinely bad behavior.
  私はいたずらな子供こどもを大目おおめに見みる事ことができない。↗

  I cannot be tolerant of naughty children.

For a lively, unruly child use 「わんぱく」; for prank-pulling mischief use 「いたずら」; 「行けない」 is really 'bad; wrong' and serves as 'naughty' only when scolding a child.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• わんぱくnaughty
• いけないbad
• やんちゃnaughty
• 行儀悪いぎょうぎわるいbad mannered
• 聞き分けのないききわけのないunreasonable
• いけんbad
• いたずらmischievous