ヤバい
yabai
The English phrase "dope" can be translated into Japanese as ヤバい (yabai).
ヤバい is a versatile slang term. While it can mean "amazing" or "dope" in a positive sense, it is also used to mean "bad", "dangerous" or "terrible" depending on the context and tone.
Meaning: slang: amazing (adj)
Which one should you use?
ヤバい is the standard slang form, but you may hear ヤベェ in very casual, masculine or rough speech, where the final "ai" sound is collapsed into an "e" sound. Other ways to express similar sentiments include カッコいい for "cool", 最高 for "the best" or "awesome" and めっちゃいい for "super good" or "awesome".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ヤバい is highly informal and should be avoided in professional or polite settings, as it is considered very casual slang. The related terms カッコいい, 最高 and めっちゃいい are also informal.
Is it said differently in some regions?
めっちゃいい is a regional variation primarily used in the Kansai dialect to mean "super good" or "awesome".
How do you pronounce it?
yabai
Did you know?
- While ヤバい is now a general term for 'dope' or 'terrible', it originally emerged from the underworld of Japanese criminals to describe a 'dangerous' situation where they might be caught by police.
- The spelling of ヤバい in Katakana instead of Hiragana is often used in casual digital communication to give the word a more 'edgy' or 'slangy' visual impact.
- The word ヤバい is so common that it can be used as an interjection, almost like the English 'Oh my god!', even when there is no specific adjective following it.
Examples in context
- あのバンド、カッコいいよね！That band is so dope!
- このゲームは最高だ！This game is dope!
- 彼のダンス、めっちゃいいやん！His dance is so dope!
- この映画、めっちゃおもろいやん！This movie is dope!
- この曲、マジでヤバい。Kono kyoku, maji de yabai.This song is seriously dope.
- あの映画の映像、ヤバいね。Ano eiga no eizou, yabai ne.The visuals in that movie are amazing, aren't they?
- 彼の新しい靴、ヤバい！Kare no atarashii kutsu, yabai!His new shoes are dope!
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at a street performer's video on a smartphone.
- 蓮 Ren美咲、見て。このダンサー、ヤバくない？Misaki, mite. Kono dansaa, yabakunai?Misaki, look. Isn't this dancer amazing?
- 美咲 Misaki本当だ、ヤバいね！Hontou da, yabai ne!You're right, he's dope!
- 蓮 Ren動きがめちゃくちゃヤバいよ。Ugoki ga mechakucha yabai yo.His moves are incredibly amazing.
- 美咲 Misaki蓮の言う通りだね。Ren no iu toori da ne.It's just as you say, Ren.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ヤバい, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
