皮肉な
hinikuna
The Japanese word for sarcastic is 皮肉な (hinikuna).
皮肉な is an adjective used to describe something or someone that contains sarcasm. When you want to describe an action performed with sarcastic intent, you can use the phrase 皮肉を込めて, which means 'sarcastically' or 'with sarcasm'.
Meaning: Containing sarcasm (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
This noun is composed of the characters for 'skin/leather' (皮) and 'meat' (肉).
How do you pronounce it?
hinikuna
Did you know?
- While English sarcasm often involves saying the opposite of what is meant, Japanese sarcasm is frequently expressed through an excess of extreme politeness.
- Japanese distinguishes between 皮肉 (hiniku), which is seen as a witty or ironic comment, and 嫌味 (iyami), which is perceived as a mean-spirited personal attack.
- In Japanese, the word 皮肉 (hiniku) describes not only a person's speech but also a 'cruel twist of fate' where a situation is ironically unfortunate.
Examples in context
- 「決して不可能だとは言いませんが、少々困難なのではありませんか？」I'm not saying it's impossible, but isn't it a bit difficult?
- 「マジで天才だね」Wow, you're such a genius!
- 「充分素敵な計画だね」What a wonderful plan!
- 「すごい頭の柔らかさだね」You have such a flexible mind!
- 彼は皮肉な笑みを浮かべた。Kare wa hinikuna emi o ukabeta.He wore a sarcastic smile.
- 彼女の態度はとても皮肉なものだった。Kanojo no taido wa totemo hinikuna mono datta.Her attitude was very sarcastic.
- 皮肉な言い方をしないでください。Hinikuna iikata o shinaide kudasai.Please do not use a sarcastic tone.
Example conversation
Yui and Hiroto are discussing a coworker's behavior.
- 結衣 Yuiあの人の言葉は少し皮肉な感じがする。Ano hito no kotoba wa sukoshi hinikuna kanji ga suru.That person's words sound a bit sarcastic.
- 大翔 Hiroto確かに、彼はいつも皮肉なことを言うね。Tashika ni, kare wa itsumo hinikuna koto o iu ne.True, he always says sarcastic things.
- 結衣 Yui少し失礼な態度だと思う。Sukoshi shitsureina taido da to omou.I think it is a bit rude.
- 大翔 Hirotoそうだね、気をつけよう。Sou da ne, ki o tsukeyou.You're right, let's be careful.
