Compounds and variants
- ガキ gaki
- Base form. A bratty kid.
- ガキども gaki-domo
- Plural. "Those brats." Common phrasing for teachers and coaches.
- クソガキ kuso-gaki
- "Little shit." Intensified. Friendly among friends, rude between strangers.
- ガキ大将 gaki-daishō
- "Brat general." The ringleader of a pack of kids. An archetype of post-war Japanese childhood.
- ガキの頃 gaki no koro
- "When I was a kid." Self-deprecating idiom used by most Japanese adults.
- ガキっぽい gaki-ppoi
- "Childish." Adjective form. Often applied to adults acting immaturely.
- 悪ガキ waru-gaki
- "Bad gaki." A kid who's actually troublemaking rather than just noisy.
- ガキ使 gaki-tsukai
- Short for "Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!", a long-running variety show. See in culture.
Example sentences
「あのガキ、また壁に落書きしたぞ。」
Ano gaki, mata kabe ni rakugaki shita zo.
"That brat drew on the wall again."
「ガキの頃はこういうのが好きだった。」
Gaki no koro wa kou iu no ga suki datta.
"When I was a kid, I liked stuff like this."
「クソガキ、早く来い！」
Kuso-gaki, hayaku koi!
"Hurry up, you little brat!" (said fondly)
「彼はガキ大将だったらしい。」
Kare wa gaki-daishō datta rashii.
"Apparently he was a ringleader as a kid."
「ガキっぽい行動はやめろよ。」
Gaki-ppoi kōdō wa yamero yo.
"Stop acting so childish."
Where it appears
- Variety TV
- Very common. Comedians use it in self-deprecation and affectionate complaint.
- Manga
- Standard marker for a misbehaving child character.
- At home
- Parents about their kids. Siblings about each other. Grandparents about grandchildren.
- Text messages
- Friends teasing each other. Ordinary online register.
- Printed signs
- Children's programs, after-school clubs, comedy posters.
For cultural examples see in culture.