Sports & Gaming

Japanese slang from gaming culture, esports, and sports fandom

Introduction

Gaming culture is massive in Japan, and it comes with its own language. From リセマラ (rerolling for better gacha results) to 無課金 (playing without spending money), gaming slang has leaked into everyday Japanese.

This chapter covers slang from gaming, esports, and sports culture in Japan.

Themes

All Japanese Slang in This Chapter (80)

• 廃人 An addict who plays games so obsessively they neglect sleep, work, and social...
• 縛りプレイ A challenge run where the player imposes extra rules or restrictions on thems...
• RTA Real Time Attack — the Japanese term for speedrunning, where players try to c...
• TAS Tool-Assisted Speedrun — gameplay performed using emulator tools to achieve f...
• 初見 First-time viewer or player — used to announce that you are watching a stream...
• 初見殺し A trap or mechanic in a game designed to kill or punish first-time players wh...
• ヌルゲー An easy game — one that offers no real challenge, sometimes used dismissively...
• 神ゲー A god-tier game — an outstanding, masterpiece-level game that players conside...
• 積みゲー A backlog game — a game you bought but have never played, left sitting in you...
• ネトゲ An online game, especially an MMORPG — used broadly for any game played over ...
• ソシャゲ A social game — a mobile game typically featuring gacha mechanics, events, an...
• 確定 Guaranteed or confirmed — used in gaming to describe a drop, pull, or outcome...
• 爆死 Bombing spectacularly — terrible luck in gacha pulls, resulting in wasted mon...
• 環境 The meta — the current competitive environment defining which characters, str...
• ぶっ壊れ Broken or overpowered — a character, weapon, or skill so strong it breaks the...
• ナーフ A nerf — when developers weaken a character, weapon, or skill through a game ...
• バフ A buff — strengthening a character, weapon, or skill, either through a develo...
• デバフ A debuff — a weakening effect applied to an enemy or a developer-imposed redu...
• 周回 Grinding — repeatedly running through the same stage, quest, or dungeon to fa...
• ドロップ率 Drop rate — the probability of obtaining a specific item from a defeated enem...
• 垢 Account — internet slang abbreviation for アカウント, used for social media and ga...
• チーター A cheater in an online game — someone who uses hacks, exploits, or third-part...
• BAN Banned — being prohibited from accessing a game, platform, or online service,...
• 晒し Publicly exposing someone — posting screenshots, usernames, or other identify...
• 煽り Taunting or provoking — deliberately antagonising other players through in-ga...
• エイム Aim — the skill of accurately targeting enemies in shooter games, one of the ...
• キャリー Carry — when one skilled player single-handedly leads their team to victory b...
• 戦犯 The player who caused the team to lose — literally 'war criminal,' used to as...
• 野良 Random matchmaking — playing online with strangers rather than a premade team...
• フレンド Friend — specifically an in-game friend list contact, someone you have added ...
• 固定 A fixed party — a regular, consistent group of teammates who always play toge...
• ランクマ Ranked match — competitive matches where wins and losses affect your ranking,...
• レート Rating — a numerical score representing a player's competitive skill level, g...
• 脳死 Brain-dead play — doing something on complete autopilot without thinking, use...
• プレミ A premium mistake — a costly, avoidable blunder during gameplay that negative...
• 立ち回り Positioning and tactical movement during gameplay — how you move, where you s...
• パーティー編成 Party composition — the process of selecting and arranging team members, char...
• 実況 Live commentary — game streaming or commentary over gameplay, the foundation ...
• 配信者 A streamer or content creator — someone who broadcasts live content, especial...
• プロゲーマー A professional gamer — someone who competes in esports or makes a living thro...
• 大会 Tournament or competition — a formal or informal contest, from local gaming e...
• ラスボス Last boss — the final and most powerful enemy in a game; extended to mean the...
• フルコン Full combo — hitting every note in a rhythm game without missing, breaking co...
• トロコン Trophy completion — obtaining every trophy or achievement in a PlayStation ga...
• やり込み Deep dive completion — the act of thoroughly mastering a game by pursuing eve...
• エンドコンテンツ Endgame content — optional high-difficulty activities available after complet...
• DLC Downloadable content — paid or free additional content for a game, such as ex...
• アプデ Update — an abbreviated form of アップデート (update), referring to game patches, a...
• メンテ Maintenance — server downtime during which an online game is taken offline fo...
• 鬼畜 Brutally difficult or mercilessly cruel — used to describe games, stages, or ...
• ワンパン One-shot kill — defeating an enemy or being defeated in a single hit, emphasi...
• 即死 Instant death — dying immediately from a single attack, trap, or mechanic wit...
• 復活 Revive or respawn — coming back to life after being defeated in a game, or ma...
• 連勝 Win streak — a series of consecutive victories in games, sports, or competition.
• 連敗 Losing streak — a series of consecutive defeats in games, sports, or competit...
• 引退 Retiring — quitting a game, competitive scene, or activity for good, often an...
• 復帰 Comeback — returning to a game or competition after a period of absence.
• ギルド Guild — an organised in-game group or clan of players who team up for coopera...
• レイド Raid — a large-scale cooperative battle requiring multiple players to coordin...
• タンク Tank — a frontline role in team games focused on absorbing damage and protect...
• ヒーラー Healer — a support role in multiplayer games whose primary job is restoring H...
• 火力 Firepower — the damage output of a character or player, used to measure offen...
• スキル回し Skill rotation — the optimal sequence of abilities a player should use to max...
• メタ Meta — the most effective strategies, character picks, or team compositions i...
• キル Kill — defeating an opponent in a shooter or battle game.
• デス Death — getting killed in a game, used to count player deaths as in a kill/de...
• リスポーン Respawn — coming back to life at a spawn point after being killed in a game.
• クリップ A short recorded highlight clip of an impressive play, saved and shared on so...
• ハイライト Highlight reel — a compilation of the best moments from a gaming session or s...
• ガチマ Serious ranked match — short for ガチマッチ, the competitive mode as opposed to ca...
• 味方ガチャ Teammate lottery — the luck factor of getting good or bad random teammates in...
• スマーフ Smurfing — a skilled player using a low-rank alternate account to dominate be...
• MVP Most valuable player — the top performer in a match, displayed on post-game r...
• 下克上 Lower-ranked overthrowing the higher-ranked — an upset victory where the unde...
• 番狂わせ Upset — when the underdog wins against all expectations, used in sports and c...
• 推しチーム Your favourite team that you passionately support — applying oshi culture to ...
• ロビー Game lobby — the waiting room where players gather and prepare before a match...
• ピック Pick — choosing a character or hero before a match in games like Valorant, Ap...
• フレ戦 Friend battle — a casual match played against friends rather than random oppo...
• デスマ Death march — a gruelling marathon gaming or work session with no end in sigh...