Translation guide
Describes messy, hurried, or illegible handwriting. In Japanese, this is expressed through verbs, adverbs, and descriptive phrases rather than a single noun.
The action of writing in a careless, hurried, or illegible way.
Literally 'running writing', this is the most common way to say 'to scrawl' or 'to jot down hastily'. It implies speed and messiness.
彼はメモを走り書きした。
He scrawled a note.
Literally 'punching writing', this is stronger and more vivid, suggesting violent, rough scrawling. Often used for angry or extremely careless writing.
怒りに任せて手紙を殴り書きした。
He scrawled the letter in a fit of anger.
Means 'to write roughly/carelessly'. Focuses on the lack of care rather than speed.
彼は答案をぞんざいに書いた。
He scrawled his answers on the exam paper.
Literally 'to write violently/roughly'. Similar to 殴り書き but less idiomatic. Can be used for messy handwriting.
子供が壁に乱暴に落書きをした。
The child scrawled graffiti on the wall.
The resulting messy or illegible writing itself.
走り書き is neutral and simply means writing quickly, often resulting in messiness. 殴り書き adds a nuance of violence or anger, like 'dashing off' in a rough manner. Use 走り書き for everyday hasty notes, and 殴り書き when the writing looks aggressive or extremely careless.
English often uses 'scrawl' as a noun (e.g., 'his scrawl was illegible'). In Japanese, it's more natural to use a verb phrase or describe the handwriting quality (悪筆, 走り書き) rather than a direct noun equivalent.
The noun form of 走り書きする. Refers to hastily written, often messy notes or text.
これは彼の走り書きだ。
This is his scrawl.
The noun form of 殴り書きする. Emphasizes rough, violent-looking scrawl.
壁に殴り書きの落書きがあった。
There was a scrawl of graffiti on the wall.
Means 'bad handwriting' or 'poor penmanship'. A general term for illegible writing, not necessarily hurried.
彼の悪筆で何が書いてあるか読めない。
I can't read what it says because of his scrawl.
Idiomatic phrase meaning 'writing like worm tracks', a vivid description of messy, wriggly scrawl.
彼の字はミミズの這ったような字だ。
His handwriting is a scrawl like worm tracks.