ダサい

Japanese

Etymology

Uncertain. Theories include derivation from どんくさい (donkusai, “clumsy”), 野(や)菜(さい) (yasai, “vegetables”), or possibly from a misreading (possibly humorous) of 田舎(いなか) (inaka, “countryside, rural area; unrefined”) as 田(だ) (da) + 舎(しゃ) (sha). Attested from the 1970s.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ダサ​い [dàsáꜜì] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [da̠sa̠i]

Adjective

ダサい or ださい • (dasai) -i (adverbial ダサく (dasaku))

1. (slang) lame, uncool
   • 1979, Kim Il-tu, Meisatsu hengaku junreki (Myŏngch'al p'yŏnaek sullyŏk) [Pictorial tour of famous temples], Seoul: Hanjin Ch'ulp'ansa, page 9:

     五(ご)島(しま)田(だ)歌(か)詞(し)が「孤(こ)独(どく)に耐(た)えられない」とか、誰(だれ)もが知(し)っているダサい歌(か)詞(し)なんです。

     Goshimada kashi ga “kodoku ni taerarenai” toka, dare mo ga shitteiru dasai kashi nan desu.

     Everybody knows Goshimada from poems with unsophisticated lines like, “I can’t abide the solitude”.

   • 1982, Aida Garo, Gekitotsu bōsō “zoku” [Smashing motorcycle “tribes”], Tokyo: Dainamikku Serāzu:

     今(いま)まで、けっこう暴(ぼう)走(そう)族(ぞく)の本(ほん)とかいろいろ出(で)てるけど、あんなのはダサいよ。

     Ima made, kekkō bōsōzoku no hon toka iroiro deteru kedo, anna no wa dasai yo.

     Before now, a lot of books have appeared about bōsōzoku [motorcycle gangs], but they’re all lame.

   • 1993, Saimon Fumi, Ai ni tsuite kojinteki iken 2 [Personal opinions about love, part 2], page 52:

     「はらほろひれはれ」と同(おな)じくらい古(ふる)臭(くさ)い。要(よう)するに、ダサいコマーシャルなのだ。

     “Hara horo hire hare” to onaji kurai furu-kusai. Yō suru ni, dasai komāsharu na no da.

     They’re as old-fashioned as “June-moon-swoon”. In short, just lame commercials.

Inflection

Inflection of ダサい

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	ダサかろ	dasakaro
Continuative (連用形)	ダサく	dasaku
Terminal (終止形)	ダサい	dasai
Attributive (連体形)	ダサい	dasai
Hypothetical (仮定形)	ダサけれ	dasakere
Imperative (命令形)	ダサかれ	dasakare
Key constructions
Informal negative	ダサくない	dasaku nai
Informal past	ダサかった	dasakatta
Informal negative past	ダサくなかった	dasaku nakatta
Formal	ダサいです	dasai desu
Formal negative	ダサくないです	dasaku nai desu
Formal past	ダサかったです	dasakatta desu
Formal negative past	ダサくなかったです	dasaku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	ダサくて	dasakute
Conditional	ダサければ	dasakereba
Provisional	ダサかったら	dasakattara
Volitional	ダサかろう	dasakarō
Adverbial	ダサく	dasaku
Degree	ダサさ	dasasa

Synonyms

• ダサダサ (dasadasa)

Derived terms

• ダサダサ (dasadasa)
• ダさいたま (Dasaitama)