Japanese · 7 phrases · a local category
Rudeness by Register
The real story of cursing in Japanese. No dirty words needed: offense lives in the wrong pronoun (omae, temee, kisama), the naked command (shiro, kure), the contempt-suffix -yagaru, and simply talking too casually (tameguchi) to someone you owe formality. Here the same sentence turns hostile through grammar alone.
くれ kure KOO-reh Gimme (blunt demand) お前 omae o-MAH-eh You (blunt/rough — insulting to the wrong person) タメ口 tameguchi tah-meh-GOO-chee Talking casually to someone you owe formality 貴様 kisama kee-SAH-mah You wretch / you scum (archaic-hostile 'you') しろ shiro SHEE-ro Do it. (naked command — rude by grammar alone) てめえ temee teh-MEH You bastard / you son of a bitch (aggressive 'you') 〜やがる -yagaru yah-GAH-roo ...the bastard (verb ending that spits contempt)