Japanese · Insults
頭おかしい
atama okashii
ah-TAH-mah o-kah-SHEE · /atama okaɕiː/
You're insane / out of your mind
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"head is wrong/off"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
"Your head's broken" — you're crazy, not as a compliment. Used both jokingly ("atama okashii yo, omae" at a friend's wild plan) and as a real accusation of someone behaving unhinged. Sits in the sensitive zone around mental capacity, so it reads harsher aimed at a stranger than at a laughing friend.
Heard in the wild
真冬に海入るとか頭おかしい。
Swimming in the sea in midwinter — you're insane.
Where it lands
Nationwide
Quick answers
- What does "頭おかしい" mean?
- In Japanese, "頭おかしい" means "You're insane / out of your mind". Literally it's "head is wrong/off". "Your head's broken" — you're crazy, not as a compliment. Used both jokingly ("atama okashii yo, omae" at a friend's wild plan) and as a real accusation of someone behaving unhinged. Sits in the sensitive zone around mental capacity, so it reads harsher aimed at a stranger than at a laughing friend.
- Is "頭おかしい" offensive?
- It's genuinely rude — a 3/5 (Watch your audience) on the Punch-o-Meter. Fine among friends, never at work or with people you've just met.
- How do you pronounce "頭おかしい"?
- Say it "ah-TAH-mah o-kah-SHEE" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: atama okaɕiː.
Related in Japanese
ばか baka BAH-kah Idiot / dummy / stupid あほ aho AH-ho Idiot / dummy (Kansai flavor — often affectionate) 馬鹿野郎 baka-yarō BAH-kah yah-ROH You stupid bastard / you goddamn idiot クソ野郎 kuso-yarō KOO-so yah-ROH Piece of shit / shitty bastard この野郎 kono-yarō KO-no yah-ROH Why you...! / you little...! ブス busu BOO-soo Ugly woman / dog
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "That's crazy".
- French C'est ouf ! That's insane! / Crazy! (good or bad)
- German einen Vogel zeigen You've got a screw loose / you're insane
- Greek τρελάθηκες; Are you crazy?! / Have you lost your mind?
- Korean 미친 Crazy — from 'that's insane(ly good)!' to 'you lunatic' to a genuine slur on someone's sanity.
- Polish masakra A disaster / unbelievable / total carnage — the all-purpose 'this is insane.'
- Portuguese Sinistro Sick! / Insane! (both awesome and scary)
- Russian Псих! Psycho / nutcase
- Turkish Deli oluyorum! I'm losing my mind / this is driving me crazy
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.