3 Useful Japanese Slang ~Selected by ZenPop~　

Young generation in Japan creates so many slang every year. Therefore, Japanese slangs which used by young generation, especially high school students, change very quickly. However, there are some slangs which remains for long time and became so natural to use for young people. We will introduce three useful Japanese slangs which is also easy to use in this blog post. Let’s learn Japanese slangs and know how young generations in Japan use Japanese in their own way.

1. マジ (Maji)

The word マジ comes from the word 真面目 (まじめ - Majime), which means serious. In English, you would use this word as “seriously” or “really.” マジ is used when it is followed by a couple of more words, and when you JUST want to say “seriously.”

Example
マジあの人カッコイイ。 maji ano hito kakkoii) – That guy is really hot.

Example
結婚した。 (kekkonshita) – I got married.

マジ？！ (maji ?!) – Seriously?!

2. やばい (Yabai)

The word ヤバい was used for dangerous situations. When a person was in danger or in a bad situation, he/she would use the word ヤバい. However, young people have started to use the term to mean “uncool” or anything negative for that matter.

Example
テストどうだった？ (tesuto dou datta?) – How did your test go?
ヤバかった。 (yabakatta) – It was terrible.

Recently though, ヤバい took another turn and it is now used for positive things as well. So in general, ヤバい is an adjective that can be used to mean something good or bad depending on the context.

Example
あの子犬見て！ (ano koinu mite!) － Look at that puppy!
ヤバい！可愛い！ (yabai! kawaii!) － Omg it’s so cute!

Now can you guess what マジやばい (maji yabai) would mean? 

3. それな (Sorena)

それな is originally from Kansai dialect, and it is used when people nod an agreement. It became widely used by young generation all over Japan to agree with something.

Example
映画めっちゃ楽しみ！（eiga meccha tanoshimi!）－ I’m so excited to see the movie
それな！(sorena!)－ Me too!!

Example
あの授業全然面白くなくない？(ano jugyou zenzen omoshirokunakunai?)－That class is boring, isn't it?
それな (sorena)－True/That’s true.

Are these Japanese slangs interesting for you guys?
If you have any Japanese friends around you, please use these slangs and they’ll surprised!!
Or, if you have chance to come to Japan, listen to young people using these slangs so naturally;)