暴言

• Reading: ぼうげん
• Romaji: bougen
• Kanji breakdown: 暴 (bou) — violent, reckless, harsh; 言 (gen) — word, speech, remark
• Pronunciation: /boː.ɡen/

Meaning

Abusive language; violent words; rash remark. Extremely offensive, reckless, or violent speech that goes beyond acceptable norms.

Most commonly used in the collocation 暴言を吐く (to spout abusive language). While 悪口 refers to general negative talk about someone, 暴言 implies language that is violently offensive or recklessly damaging. Often appears in news reports and human-resources discussions as a key term for verbal harassment (ハラスメント), particularly in contexts of power imbalance.

Examples

1. コーチが選手に暴言を吐いたとして、チームから謹慎処分を受けた。 The coach was suspended by the team for hurling abusive language at a player.
2. カスタマーサポートの担当者は日々、顧客からの暴言に耐えている。 Customer support representatives endure verbal abuse from customers on a daily basis.
3. SNSでの暴言が問題視され、プラットフォームの規約改定につながった。 Abusive language on social media became such a problem that it led to a revision of the platform's terms of service.

Usage Guide

Context: harassment, sports, customer service, social media

Tone: negative

Origin & History

Sino-Japanese compound. 暴 means violent, reckless, or harsh, 言 means word or speech — together denoting speech that is aggressively unrestrained.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal