Japanese · The Basics
マジ
maji
MAH-jee · /madʑi/
Seriously / for real / no joke
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"serious / for real"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The workhorse intensifier and reaction word. As a question, "maji?" means "for real?"; as an adverb, "maji-de" means "seriously" (maji-de umai = seriously delicious). Completely casual — fine with friends, out of place in any polite or work register, where you'd reach for hontō-ni instead. Written マジ or 本気 with the irregular reading.
Heard in the wild
え、マジで言ってる?
Wait, are you seriously saying that?
Where it lands
Nationwide
Quick answers
- What does "マジ" mean?
- In Japanese, "マジ" means "Seriously / for real / no joke". Literally it's "serious / for real". The workhorse intensifier and reaction word. As a question, "maji?" means "for real?"; as an adverb, "maji-de" means "seriously" (maji-de umai = seriously delicious). Completely casual — fine with friends, out of place in any polite or work register, where you'd reach for hontō-ni instead. Written マジ or 本気 with the irregular reading.
- Is "マジ" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "マジ"?
- Say it "MAH-jee" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: madʑi.
Related in Japanese
やばい yabai yah-BYE Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context いてえ itee (itai) ee-TEH Ow! / Ouch! / That hurts! マジか maji ka MAH-jee kah For real?! / Are you kidding me?! うそ uso OO-so No way! / You're kidding! / That can't be true! げっ ge' GEH Ugh / yuck / oh no たっけえ takkee (takai) tahk-KEH Damn, that's expensive! / highway robbery
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "No way".
- French Oh la vache ! Holy cow! / Wow! / Whoa!
- German Quatsch! Nonsense! / Rubbish! / No way!
- Greek έλα ρε Come on! / No way! / You're kidding — disbelief, protest, or delight depending on tone.
- Italian Dai! Come on! / Come off it! / Please!
- Korean 헐 Whoa / no way / I can't even — the all-purpose stunned noise.
- Polish no co ty! No way! / Come on! / You can't be serious.
- Portuguese Porra nenhuma! Bullshit! / Like hell! / Not a damn thing
- Russian Офигеть! Wow! / Holy cow! / No way!
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