ださい
ださい
dasai
= uncool / lame / tacky / dorky
ださい (dasai) is the Japanese word for uncool — the fashion is dated, the move was embarrassing, the joke didn’t land. It is one of the most universally used slang adjectives in Japanese, cutting across generations and contexts.
Dasai is an i-adjective meaning uncool, unfashionable, tacky, or embarrassing. It can describe clothing that looks outdated, a person’s awkward behavior, a design that looks cheap, or anything that fails to meet a basic standard of style or social grace. Unlike 変 (hen, strange) which describes something as simply odd, dasai carries a judgment of taste — it implies the person or thing is trying and failing to be cool, or has no awareness of how they appear. The opposite is イケてる (iketeru) or かっこいい (kakkoii — cool).
Dasai can be used about people, objects, fashion, behavior, and ideas. ‘服がださいよ’ (Fuku ga dasai yo — your outfit is uncool) is direct and could hurt feelings, so gauge the relationship before using it about someone’s appearance. About objects or situations, it is more neutral: ‘このデザイン、ちょっとださくない？’ (Kono dezain, chotto dasaku nai? — Isn’t this design a bit tacky?). The adverb form is ださく (dasaku).
Everyday use
あのズボン、ちょっとださくない？
Ano zubon, chotto dasaku nai?
Aren’t those pants a bit tacky?
Casual / Social Media
高校の卒業アルバム見たら自分の髪型がださすぎて笑えた
Koukou no sotsugyou arubamu mitara jibun no kamigata ga dasa sugite waraeta
I looked at my high school yearbook and my hairstyle was so uncool I had to laugh
Formal / Cultural context
時代とともに「ださい」の基準は変化するが、同調圧力と美意識を映す言葉として若者文化に根付いている。
Jidai to tomo ni ‘dasai’ no kijun wa henka suru ga, douchou atsuryoku to bii-ishiki wo utsusu kotoba toshite wakamono bunka ni nedzuite iru.
While standards of what counts as ‘dasai’ shift over time, the word is rooted in youth culture as a reflection of peer pressure and aesthetic awareness.
Dasai has been used in Japanese since at least the 1970s and became a staple of youth vocabulary. Its widespread use reflects how much social energy in Japanese peer groups — especially among teenagers and young adults — is devoted to aesthetic judgment and social conformity. What counts as dasai shifts with trends, but the word itself remains constant as a tool for marking social boundaries.
Interestingly, dasai has been partially reclaimed in some subcultures. Certain vintage fashion and retro aesthetics intentionally embrace elements that would once have been called dasai, wearing them with self-awareness as a form of ironic cool. In this context, calling something dasai can even be a form of affectionate nostalgia rather than criticism — but the ironic framing must be clear, otherwise it still reads as an insult.
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