Japanese · Rudeness by Register
てめえ
temee
teh-MEH · /temeː/
You bastard / you son of a bitch (aggressive 'you')
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"(from te-mae, 'the one before my hand' — hostile 'you')"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
A pronoun that IS an insult. Bizarrely it descends from temae, a humble word for "I/this side," but spat at someone it's raw hostility — a step past omae, the sound of a fight igniting. Anime-vs-reality flag: villains and delinquents growl "temee!" constantly on screen, so learners overestimate how often real adults use it. In real life it signals genuine aggression; you'll rarely need to say it, only recognize it.
Heard in the wild
てめえ、何様のつもりだ。
You bastard — who do you think you are?
Where it lands
Nationwide; male-coded, confrontational
Quick answers
- What does "てめえ" mean?
- In Japanese, "てめえ" means "You bastard / you son of a bitch (aggressive 'you')". Literally it's "(from te-mae, 'the one before my hand' — hostile 'you')". A pronoun that IS an insult. Bizarrely it descends from temae, a humble word for "I/this side," but spat at someone it's raw hostility — a step past omae, the sound of a fight igniting. Anime-vs-reality flag: villains and delinquents growl "temee!" constantly on screen, so learners overestimate how often real adults use it. In real life it signals genuine aggression; you'll rarely need to say it, only recognize it.
- Is "てめえ" 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 "てめえ"?
- Say it "teh-MEH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: temeː.
Related in Japanese
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