Although girls pop groups are very popular in Japan, a male singer, Kenshi Yonezu has risen in popularity in J-pop’s mainstream. Many anime fans may have heard of his name because one of his hit songs ピースサイン ‘Peace Sign’ was used as an opening theme for 僕のヒーローアカデミア ‘My Hero Academia‘. Today, I am going to talk about Japanese slang in his newly released song 死神 ‘Shinigami / the Grim Reaper’
Shinigami – rakugo story
This song was inspired by rakugo, Japanese story-telling. Actually, there is a rakugo story titled as 死神 / Shinigami and the story goes like this…
There is a guy who decides to commit suicide as nothing ever goes right for him. However, he meets an old man who claims to be 死神 (shinigami), and the old man told him to become a doctor, giving a tip: “If you see a patient who is about to die, you can see Shinigami. If it was sitting by the patient’s pillow, then their time has come. You won’t be able to save them. But, if Shinigami is sitting by the patient’s feet, you can get rid of it if you cast a spell.” This spell is 「アジャラカモクレン、テケレッツのパー」(ajara kamokuren tekerettsu no pā).
Slang phrases in the song
In the song, there are several Japanese slang phrases, and you actually hear them quite often in Japanese colloquial speeches.
くだらねえ (kudaranē)
くだらねえ is a rough version of くだらない. くだらない refers to worthless, absurd, stupid, ridiculous etc. In the song, this is translated to ‘What a load of crap’.
うぜえ (uzē)
うぜえ is a rough version of うざい. うざい means annoying, irritating, or something gets to the nerve.
やってらんねえ(yatterannē)
やってられねえ is a rough version of やってられない. The literal translation of this phrase would be ‘I can’t be doing this’. This is in a similar way as phrases such as ‘That’s it, I’m done.’ or ‘I can’t take this anymore.’
だらしねえ (darashinē)
This is a rough version of だらしない. The phrase means ‘sloppy’ or ‘irresponsible’. You can use this phrase like the following:
あの人は、お金にだらしない。 Ano hito wa okane ni darashi nai / That person is sloppy with money.
だらしない服装はしないでください。Darashi nai fukusou wa shinaide kudasai / Please don’t dress untidily.
つれえ (tsurē)
This is a rough version of つらい, which can be translated to words such as unbearable, hard, tough, difficult etc.
残念（ざんねん / zannen）
This phrase can be used to express your sympathy. You can translate this phrase as ‘What a shame’ or ‘that’s too bad’. Depending on the tone, this can sound like a sarcasm.
Summary – まとめ
In summary, this article talked about Shinigami by Kenshi Yonezu, and several Japanese slang phrases! Try using these phrases when you speak Japanese next time!
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