チクる

• 読み: チクる
• ローマ字: chikuru
• 発音: /tɕi.kɯ.ɾɯ/

意味

To snitch, tattle, or grass on someone — reporting someone's wrongdoing to an authority figure.

チクる is the go-to slang for telling on someone, whether it is a child reporting a classmate to the teacher or an adult informing a boss about a colleague's mistake. It carries a strong negative connotation — the person who チクる is seen as disloyal and sneaky. In Japanese group culture where loyalty and not rocking the boat are highly valued, being labelled a チクる person is seriously damaging to social standing.

例文

1. あいつ先生にチクりやがった、最低。
2. チクるなよ、みんなでやったことだろ。
3. 誰がチクったか分かったら絶交だわ。

使い方ガイド

場面: school, workplace gossip, friends, complaints about betrayal

トーン: accusatory, resentful, warning

正しい言い方

• チクるつもりはないけど知っちゃったんだよね。 (I don't plan to snitch, but I happened to find out.)
• チクったの誰だよ。 (Who snitched?)

避ける言い方

• いじめの報告を「チクる」と呼ぶのは危険 (Calling the reporting of bullying 'snitching' is dangerous — it discourages victims from seeking help)

よくある間違い

• Using チクる in formal or professional contexts — the proper term for reporting is 報告する (houkoku suru) or 通報する (tsuuhou suru)

起源と歴史

Thought to be onomatopoeic, evoking the 'chiku chiku' (ちくちく) pricking/stinging sensation — like a needle prick, the pain of being betrayed by a snitch. Became widespread in 1980s school slang and has remained standard youth vocabulary ever since.

文化的背景

時代: 1980s school slang

世代: All ages, learned in childhood

社会的背景: Universal

地域メモ: Used across all of Japan. Reflects the cultural weight of group loyalty (仲間意識) — being a チクり (snitch) violates unwritten social codes.