oni-babā 鬼婆 devilish old harpy, hell-hag
• ha-nuke-babā/jijī 歯抜け婆/爺 toothless old bat
• samehada-babā 鮫肌婆 old woman with coarse-grained skin (lit., shark skin)
• shiwakucha-babā/jijī 皺くちゃ婆/爺 wrinkled old crone
• oibore-babā/jijī 老いぼれ婆/爺 gross and aging hag
• kusottare-babā/jijī 糞ったれ婆/爺 shitty old goat
Note: Substitute jijī for babā when referring to old men.
JUST PLAIN UGLY
• subeta スベタ relentlessly ugly woman, gorgon
• futame to mirarenai 二目と見られない shocking, hideous (lit., can’t look at twice)
• busu ブス homely slattern
• okachimenko おかちめんこ unsightly wench
• akujo 悪女 repulsive female
• bu-otoko ブ男 ugly brute
• hyottoko ひょっとこ ugly person, gargoyle, distorted face mask
Anna hyottoko to kokkon suru nante tondemo-nai ze.
あんなひょっとこと結婚するなんてとんでもないぜ。
The thought of marrying such an ugly person is simply out of the question.
MISCELLANEOUS
Japanese children have a chant that goes: Omaeno kāsan debeso! おまえのかあさんでべそ！ Literally it means, “Your mother has a protruding navel!” It is akin to, “Your mother wears flour-sack drawers (or surplus army boots).” It is not meant as a compliment.
This chant was popularized in 1965 by a comic group called Hana Hajime and the Crazy Cats 八ナ肇とクレイジ一キヤ ッツ。 The full, somewhat incomprehensible chant ran:
Baka. Kaba. Chindon-ya. バカカバチンドン屋。
Fool. Hippo. Street musician.
Omae no kāchan debeso. お前のかあちゃんでべそ。
Your mom’s belly button sticks out.
Omae no tōchan nana-iro debeso.
お前のとうちやん七色でべそ。
Your dad’s belly button has seven colors.
Mimi no ana kara te tsukkonde okuba gata-gata iwasetaru de.
耳の穴から手突っ込んで奥歯ガ夕ガ夕言わせたるで。
I’ll stick a hand in your ear and rattle around your back teeth.
Mendō mikirenē nā. 面倒見切れね〜な〜
I just can’t look after you.
CHAPTER TWO
Threats, Taunts and Curses
Here is a prime selection of threats, curses, zingers, and rough commands as well as an ample supply of caustic words of chastisement, cautions, and sharp retorts.
I have given figurative translations (unless otherwise noted) since literal ones often fail to get the offensive ideas across. For instance: sono te wa kuwan zo. その手は食わんぞ. Literally this translates as, “I won’t eat that hand.” Since that doesn’t really say much, I have elected to give readers a more figurative rendering. In this instance:
Sono te wa kuwan zo. その手は食わんぞ。
None of your bloody tricks now.
THREATS
Needless to say, there are hundreds, even thousands of phrases and sentences that are used to intimidate others. But since a complete list is out of the question. I have chosen a few as a starter kit:
Myō na ki wo okosu na. 妙な気を起こすな。
Don’t try anything funny.
Sunao ni naran to buchi-nomesu ze.
素直にならんとぶちのめすぜ。 If you don‘t do what I say, I’m going to beat the hell out of you.
Shikaeshi suru zo. 仕返しするぞ。
I’ll get even (for that).
Itai me ni awaseru zo! 痛い目にあわせるぞ！
You’re going to feel it from me!
Hitotsu yaki wo irete yaru beki da.
つ焼きを入れてやるべきだ。
I should teach you a lesson.
Mogaite mo shiyō ga nai. もがいても仕様がない。
It’s no use struggling.
Aitsu yattsukete yaru. あいつ、やっつけてやる。
I’ll fix him.
Omote e dero. 表へ出ろ。 Step outside.
Keri wo tsukeyō. ケリをつけよつ。
Let’s settle this or Let’s put an end to this.
The expression keri wo tsukeru ケリをつける comes from Japanese tanka 短歌 and haiku 俳句 poems, which often end with the auxiliary verb keri ケリ. Thus, “to add a keri ケリ ” means to bring things to an end.
Beso wo kakuzo. ベそをかくぞ。
You’ll be sorry for this.
Beso wo kaku ベてをかく
literally means to be on the verge of tears, to snivel and whimper.
Ato de totchimete yaru. あとでとっちめてやる。
I’ll make you smart later.
Doteppara ni kaza-ana wo akete yaru kara oboete oke. どてつ腹に風穴を開けてやるから覚えておけ。
Remember,
