Foul language (Advanced): Common swear words and phrases

🇹🇼 廢物 (fèi wù) is genuinely cutting when aimed at someone's worth. Friends also use it self-mockingly, as in 我好廢 "I'm so useless".

💬 賤 (jiàn) means "cheap, low". 賤人 is literally "cheap person".

🇹🇼 It's a harsh insult aimed almost always at women. It's not playful in most contexts.

🇹🇼 智障 (zhì zhàng) literally means "intellectual disability". It's widely used as an insult online, but many people find it offensive for that reason.

💬 腦殘 (nǎo cán) literally means "brain-damaged". It's internet slang for someone acting brainlessly, like 腦殘粉 "mindless fan".

💬 機車 (jī chē) normally means "scooter". As slang it describes a picky, annoying person or thing.

🇹🇼 It's a uniquely Taiwanese, mild complaint. You can say it about a boss or a rule without sounding vulgar.

💬 Here 機車 works like an adjective, so it follows 很 with no 是. Swap in another word for the same pattern: 你很煩 "you're annoying".

💬 三八 (sān bā) literally means "three eight". The numbers say nothing about meaning; it's simply the slang word for silly or ditzy.

🇹🇼 It's often said teasingly to a woman acting goofy, as in 你很三八耶. It's mild, but can feel condescending.

💬 屁 (pì) also works as "nothing / worthless" in rough speech: 關你屁事 "none of your business", 懂個屁 "you know nothing".

💬 啦 (la) at the end adds a pushy, dismissive tone very typical of Taiwan speech. Compare 不要啦 "no, come on".

🇹🇼 Among friends, 屁啦 is a casual 'no way!' rather than real anger.

💬 Literally this means "ghost talk". 扯 (chě) means "to talk nonsense", and 很扯 alone means "that's ridiculous".

🇹🇼 閉嘴 (bì zuǐ) is blunt and rude to strangers, though siblings and friends say it casually.

💬 滾 (gǔn) literally means "to roll". Barked alone, it's a very harsh 'get out'.

💬 開 (kāi) after an action word adds "away": 走開 "go away", 讓開 "move aside".

💬 去 + an action means "go and do it": 去吃 "go eat". Here it's 去 + 死 (sǐ) "die".

🇹🇼 It's common in jokey arguments between close friends, but very hostile otherwise.

🇹🇼 Despite the English, it's fairly mild and often playful, like 'oh, get outta here!' after teasing.

💬 該 (gāi) means "should". The same word works in normal sentences like 該走了 "time to go".

💬 This comes from Taiwanese Hokkien, where it means "to cry for one's father" (kháu-pē). So it means whining as well as 'damn!'.

🇹🇼 It's very Taiwanese and fairly crude, common among young people. A milder cousin is 靠北邊走.

💬 Verb + 什麼 said sharply means "stop doing that", not a real question: 哭什麼 "stop crying", 笑什麼 "what are you laughing at".

💬 娘 (niáng) is an older word for "mother".

🇹🇼 This is the most offensive common curse in Taiwan, often shortened to 幹. Directed at someone, it can start a real fight.

💬 Adjective + 死了 means "so ___ it's killing me": 熱死了 "so hot", 累死了 "exhausted". Nobody is actually dying.

💬 少 (shǎo) before an action word means "cut it out": 少來 "come off it". 囉嗦 (luō suō) means "nagging, wordy".

💬 有病 literally means "have illness". As a question it means 'what's wrong with you?', and has nothing to do with health.

💬 The polite version is 關你什麼事 "what's it to you". Swapping 什麼 for 屁 makes it rude.

💬 嘛 here is (má), short for 什麼. Despite the 幹, 在幹嘛 is a completely clean, everyday 'what are you doing?'.

🇹🇼 Inserting 他媽的 turns an innocent text-message question into an angry confrontation. Use it only if you mean the hostility.