畜生
Meaning in Englishbeast, brute, damn
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
What does 畜生 mean? It means a beast or brute as a strong insult, though its literal sense is livestock; it is used to vent anger or contempt toward a person in casual or dramatic speech.
Main meanings
- an insult aimed at a person, implying they are a beast or morally despicable
- an interjective expletive expressing anger or frustration, often uttered as 畜生 or 畜生め
- a figurative or humorous exaggeration in fiction or media when characters vent strong emotion
How to use it
Used in casual, emotional, or dramatic contexts; not appropriate in polite or formal settings; commonly appears as an interjection or direct address, often with the suffix め to intensify.
Variants and close terms
- kemono — beast/animal; broader neutral sense
- yarō — you bastard; common alternative insult in casual speech
- 畜生め chikushō-me — intensified form used in dialogue
Composition
- 畜 = livestock, cattle
- 生 = life, living; together they form a compound that historically refers to living stock and, in modern usage, to a beast when used as insult
Etymology
From 畜 livestock + 生 life, the word is read with on'yomi as chikushō, a compound that uses the phonetic readings of the characters rather than a direct semantic reading in modern usage.
Origin
Attested in classical Japanese texts; usage as an insult became common in Edo-period literature and persists in contemporary informal speech, manga, and drama.
Word class
Noun (名詞)