垢BAN

• Reading: あかばん
• Romaji: aka ban
• Kanji breakdown: 垢 (dirt/filth) — repurposed as slang for アカウント (account); BAN is from English
• Pronunciation: /a.ka.ba.n/

Meaning

Account ban — getting your account permanently suspended or banned from a platform.

垢BAN (あかばん) combines 垢 (アカウント, account — a common Japanese abbreviation) with BAN (from English 'ban'), meaning a permanent account suspension. It is widely used on social media, gaming platforms, and online communities when someone's account is removed for violating terms of service. 垢BAN is more severe than a temporary suspension (凍結 or シャドウバン). The phrase 「垢BANされた」 is a common complaint post among Japanese social media users.

Examples

1. スパム行為を繰り返してたら垢BANされた。 I kept spamming and ended up getting account-banned.
2. 規約違反で垢BANくらうと復活できないことが多い。 If you get account-banned for violating the terms of service, you usually can't get it back.
3. あのアカウント消えたけど垢BANかな？ That account disappeared — think it got account-banned?

Usage Guide

Context: social media, gaming, online communities

Tone: blunt, matter-of-fact

Do Say

• 垢BANされたから新しいアカウント作ったよ。 (I got account-banned so I made a new account.)
• 荒らしてたやつ、ようやく垢BANされたね。 (That troll finally got account-banned.)

Don't Say

• 「アカウント停止」と「垢BAN」は別 — 停止は一時的で復活可能、垢BANは永久停止が多い (「アカウント停止」 and 「垢BAN」 are different — suspension can be temporary, account ban is usually permanent)

Common Mistakes

• Treating 垢BAN and 凍結 (frozen/suspended) as the same — 凍結 is usually temporary; 垢BAN implies a permanent ban
• Using 垢BAN in formal contexts — it is internet slang and not appropriate in official reports or complaints to a platform

Origin & History

垢 as a short form of アカウント (account) was popularised on Japanese BBS and early social media in the 2000s. BAN from English gaming culture merged with it to create 垢BAN, which became standard slang in the 2010s across gaming, Twitter/X, and other platforms.

Cultural Context

Era: 2010s internet and gaming culture

Generation: Teens to 30s

Social background: Online communities, gaming

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan in online contexts. The mixing of the kanji abbreviation 垢 with the English loanword BAN is a typical pattern in Japanese internet slang.