Russian · Insults
Дебил!
debil
dye-BEEL · /dʲɪˈbʲil/
Moron / retard-tier insult
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"Imbecile (clinical term)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Borrowed from old psychiatric jargon, now a plain hard insult for someone behaving idiotically. Harsher and nastier than "durak"; genuinely rude aimed at a person. "Debiloid" and "umstvenno otstaly" travel in the same ugly orbit — steer clear in polite settings.
Heard in the wild
Кто так паркуется? Дебил.
Who parks like that? A moron.
Where it lands
Russia (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Дебил!" mean?
- In Russian, "Дебил!" means "Moron / retard-tier insult". Literally it's "Imbecile (clinical term)". Borrowed from old psychiatric jargon, now a plain hard insult for someone behaving idiotically. Harsher and nastier than "durak"; genuinely rude aimed at a person. "Debiloid" and "umstvenno otstaly" travel in the same ugly orbit — steer clear in polite settings.
- Is "Дебил!" 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 "Дебил!"?
- Say it "dye-BEEL" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: dʲɪˈbʲil.
Related in Russian
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "You idiot".
- French Con Idiot / dumbass — the single most useful insult in French
- German Arsch Arse / ass — and the second great compound-engine of German
- Greek μαλάκας Asshole / idiot — OR — dude / mate. The single most important word in Greek.
- Italian Stronzo! Asshole! / Bastard!
- Japanese ばか Idiot / dummy / stupid
- Korean 바보 Dummy / silly — the soft, safe, often affectionate 'idiot.'
- Polish debil Moron / idiot — the standard hard 'you idiot.'
- Portuguese Otário Sucker / gullible fool / mug
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.