キレる

• 読み: キレる
• ローマ字: kireru
• 発音: /ki.ɾe.ɾɯ/

意味

To snap, lose one's temper, or blow up in anger — describes a sudden explosive outburst.

キレる literally means 'to cut/break' (切れる) and in slang describes the moment someone's patience snaps and they explode with anger. Unlike じわじわ怒る (slow-burning anger), キレる implies a sudden, sharp breaking point. It became a social buzzword in the late 1990s with media coverage of 'キレる若者' (youth who snap). The phrase 逆ギレ (gyakugire) describes someone getting angry at the person who was rightfully upset at them.

例文

1. 何回言っても直さないから、さすがにキレた。
2. 店員にキレてる客がいて怖かった。
3. そんなことでキレるなよ、大人げない。

使い方ガイド

場面: friends, storytelling, casual conversation

トーン: angry, explosive, frustrated

正しい言い方

• あんまりしつこいとキレるよ？ (If you keep pushing I'm going to snap, okay?)
• 彼女にキレられて反省してる。 (My girlfriend blew up at me and I'm reflecting on it.)

避ける言い方

• 目上の人に「キレないでください」は失礼 (Telling a superior 'please don't snap' with キレる is rude — use 怒らないでください instead)

よくある間違い

• Using キレる for mild annoyance — it specifically means an explosive, sudden outburst of anger
• Forgetting the related term 逆ギレ (getting angry back at the person who was rightfully upset)

起源と歴史

From the verb 切れる (kireru, to cut/snap). The metaphor is of a thread or wire snapping — one's patience or composure breaks suddenly. Became mainstream slang in the late 1990s.

文化的背景

時代: Late 1990s mainstream adoption

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal informal

地域メモ: Used across Japan. The phrase キレる若者 (kireru wakamono) was a major media talking point in the late 1990s about youth violence.