クソ

Japanese

Alternative spellings
糞 屎

Etymology

From Old Japanese.

Cognate with 臭い (kusai, “stinky, smelly”), 腐る (kusaru, “to rot, to become stinky”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) クソ [kùsóꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [kɯ̟so̞]

Noun

クソ or くそ • (kuso) 

1. 糞, 屎: (colloquial, vulgar) feces, excrement; shit.

Interjection

クソ or くそ • (kuso) 

1. 糞, 屎: (vulgar) used to express anger, shock or worry; shit, damn, crap.

   クソ！玄(げん)関(かん)の鍵(かぎ)をかけ忘(わす)れた！

   Kuso! Genkan no kagi o kake-wasureta!

   Shit! I forgot to lock the front door!

Adjective

クソ or くそ • (kuso) 

1. 糞, 屎: (derogatory, colloquial, vulgar) causing extreme annoyance; blasted, damned.
2. 糞, 屎: (derogatory, colloquial, vulgar) of extremely poor quality; crappy, shitty

   このノートパソコンはクソだ！

   Kono nōto pasokon wa kuso da!

   This laptop is shit!

Usage notes

1. While still considered profane, 'Kuso' is not as offensive as its English equivalent, shit.