Japanese · Exclamations
げっ
ge'
GEH · /ɡeʔ/
Ugh / yuck / oh no
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"(retching sound)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
A sharp involuntary "ugh" — the sound of spotting your ex across the room, or a cockroach, or a surprise assignment. "Ge" for disgust, "uwa" for shock-horror, "oe" for the actual gag reflex. Comic-book onomatopoeia that jumped into speech.
Heard in the wild
げっ、宿題やってない。
Ugh — I didn't do the homework.
Where it lands
Nationwide
Quick answers
- What does "げっ" mean?
- In Japanese, "げっ" means "Ugh / yuck / oh no". Literally it's "(retching sound)". A sharp involuntary "ugh" — the sound of spotting your ex across the room, or a cockroach, or a surprise assignment. "Ge" for disgust, "uwa" for shock-horror, "oe" for the actual gag reflex. Comic-book onomatopoeia that jumped into speech.
- Is "げっ" 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 "げっ"?
- Say it "GEH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ɡeʔ.
Related in Japanese
マジ maji MAH-jee Seriously / for real / no joke 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! たっけえ takkee (takai) tahk-KEH Damn, that's expensive! / highway robbery ビビる bibiru bee-BEE-roo Freaked out / spooked / rattled
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Disgusting".
- French Ça craint ! That's sketchy / That sucks / This is bad news
- German Drecksau Filthy pig / dirty swine
- Greek αηδία Gross / disgusting / yuck.
- Italian Che schifo! How gross! / Yuck!
- Korean 극혐 So gross / absolutely revolting — maximum disgust in two syllables.
- Polish syf Filth / grime / a dump — squalor as a one-syllable verdict.
- Portuguese Bosta! Crap! / (a) piece of garbage
- Russian Фу! Yuck! / Ew! / Gross!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.