やばい

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Japanese

Alternative forms

Etymology

Alternative spellings
ヤバい
ヤバイ

Originally a slang term used in the criminal underworld,[1][2][3] used to indicate that the police were getting close.[1] First cited to a text from 1892.[1]

Derived as a shift to an -i adjective of older -na adjective やば (yaba, “illegal, dangerous, uneasy, not going well”), itself a slang term of uncertain derivation that appears in sources from the late 1700s.[1][2][3]

Possibly related to the ayabu- stem in 危ぶむ (ayabumu, “to fear something, to view something as dangerous”), and the ayau- stem in 危うい (ayaui, “dangerous”, ancient reading ayapui).

Pronunciation

Adjective

やばい • (yabai) -i (adverbial やばく (yabaku))

  1. (colloquial) dangerous, risky
  2. (colloquial) risque, off-color, vulgar
  3. (colloquial) highly concerning (in a negative way)
    ちゃんとしなきゃやべぇことになるぞ。
    Chanto shinakya yabē koto ni naru zo.
    If you don't do it like you should, shit's gonna be bad, man.
    あいつやばいなぁ。
    Aitsu yabai nā.
    What's up with them? Yikes.
    僕(ぼく)やばいかも。
    Boku yabai kamo.
    I might be screwed.
  4. (slang) very good, awesome, crazy, sick, wild
    これやばくね？
    Kore yabaku ne?
    Isn't this crazy?
    あの子(こ)の制(せい)服(ふく)姿(すがた)がヤバすぎる
    ano ko no seifuku-sugata ga yabasugiru
    that girl looks way too amazing in sailor uniforms
    (literally, “the sailor uniform appearance of that girl is too awesome”)

Inflection

Inflection of やばい
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) やばかろ yabakaro
Continuative (連用形) やばく yabaku
Terminal (終止形) やばい yabai
Attributive (連体形) やばい yabai
Hypothetical (仮定形) やばけれ yabakere
Imperative (命令形) やばかれ yabakare
Key constructions
Informal negative やばくない yabaku nai
Informal past やばかった yabakatta
Informal negative past やばくなかった yabaku nakatta
Formal やばいです yabai desu
Formal negative やばくないです yabaku nai desu
Formal past やばかったです yabakatta desu
Formal negative past やばくなかったです yabaku nakatta desu
Conjunctive やばくて yabakute
Conditional やばければ yabakereba
Provisional やばかったら yabakattara
Volitional やばかろう yabakarō
Adverbial やばく yabaku
Degree やばさ yabasa

Interjection

やばい • (yabai) 

  1. oh no, crap

Descendants

  • Chinese:
    → Mandarin: 牙白 (yábái)

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  4. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Further reading

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