悪い
warui[β̞a̠ɾɯ̟i]
The Japanese word for bad is 悪い (warui).
悪い is a common and versatile word used to describe something as unfavorable or negative. While it often refers to low quality, it can also be used to express that someone is in the wrong or feels guilty, such as when saying one has done something bad or wrong. Depending on the context, other words may be more appropriate: ヤバい can mean bad or dangerous, 駄目 is a colloquial way to say something is useless or no good and 凄い can imply an extreme level of badness in certain contexts.
Meaning: unfavorable, negative (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the tense or intensity of the word, you can use different forms. The past tense of 悪い is 悪かった, meaning was bad. The negative form is 悪くない, which translates to not bad. You can also add the suffix すぎる to create 悪すぎる, meaning too bad or way too bad.
How do you pronounce it?
warui
Did you know?
- While 悪い is the standard word for 'bad', the slang term ヤバい (yabai) is frequently used by young people to mean something is 'bad' in an intense or dangerous way, or even 'bad' in a way that is surprisingly good.
- In Japanese, saying 悪い (warui) can function as a casual way to say 'Sorry' or 'My bad' when a mistake occurs.
- The term 駄目 is often accompanied by a gesture of crossing one's arms in an X shape to visually communicate that something is 'no good'.
Examples in context
- 後味が悪い。It leaves a bad aftertaste.This sentence shows how to describe a bad aftertaste using 悪い.Tatoeba #174295 by bunbuku, translation #240175 by ddnktr
- 気分悪いの？Do you feel bad?This sentence uses 悪い to ask about feeling bad.Tatoeba #183157 by tommy_san, translation #3334038 by CK
- 機嫌悪いの？Are you in a bad mood?This sentence uses 悪い to ask if someone is in a bad mood.Tatoeba #2486077 by tommy_san, translation #2120756 by LanguageExpert
- 248 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hina and Ren are discussing a movie they just watched.
- 陽葵 Himariこの映画、評価が悪いね。Kono eiga, hyōka ga warui ne.This movie has bad reviews, doesn't it?
- 蓮 Renでも、僕は結構好きだよ。Demo, boku wa kekkō suki dayo.But I actually like it quite a bit.
- 陽葵 Himari本当に？ストーリーが悪いと思うけど。Hontō ni? Sutōrī ga warui to omou kedo.Really? I think the story is bad.
- 蓮 Renそこがいいところだと思うよ。Soko ga ii tokoro da to omou yo.I think that's the best part.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bad” translations and entries 悪い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
