ゴミカス

• Reading: ゴミカス
• Romaji: gomikasu
• Kanji breakdown: ゴミ (garbage/trash, from 塵) + カス (dregs/scum, from 粕) → garbage + dregs, compound insult for maximum contempt
• Pronunciation: /ɡo.mi.ka.sɯ/

Meaning

Utter trash, garbage scum — an extreme compound insult combining two words for worthlessness into maximum contempt.

ゴミカス doubles down on the insult by combining ゴミ (garbage) and カス (dregs/scum) into a single word of amplified contempt. It's used to express absolute disgust with a person, product, or situation. While ゴミ alone is already harsh, adding カス pushes it to an extreme level. The term is most common in internet and gaming communities where verbal aggression is more normalised, but using it toward actual people is considered very offensive. It's also used hyperbolically for things, not just people.

Examples

1. あの対応、ゴミカスすぎない？ That customer service was absolute garbage, wasn't it?
2. ゴミカスみたいな性能のガチャ引いたわ。 I pulled a gacha with garbage-tier stats.
3. 人をゴミカス呼ばわりするのはさすがに言いすぎ。 Calling someone utter trash is going way too far.

Usage Guide

Context: internet, gaming

Tone: aggressive, contemptuous

Do Say

• あのガチャの確率、ゴミカスすぎる。 (The gacha rates are absolute garbage.)
• ゴミカスって言葉、さすがにきつくない？ (Isn't 'garbage scum' a bit too harsh?)

Don't Say

• 人に直接「ゴミカス」は深刻ないじめになりうる (Calling someone ゴミカス directly can constitute serious bullying)

Common Mistakes

• Using ゴミカス casually in real life — it's primarily an internet/gaming term and sounds extremely aggressive in face-to-face conversation
• Not understanding that this is a compound intensifier — ゴミ + カス together is much harsher than either word alone

Origin & History

Compound of ゴミ (gomi, garbage/trash) and カス (kasu, dregs/scum). Both are existing insults combined for intensification. Became common in 2010s internet and gaming culture.

Cultural Context

Era: 2010s internet and gaming culture

Generation: Gen Z and internet users

Social background: Internet subculture

Regional notes: Used nationwide online. The compound format follows a pattern of doubling insults for emphasis in internet Japanese.