Translation guide
The English word 'trash' can refer to physical garbage, the act of discarding something, or the metaphorical idea of something being of poor quality or ruined. This guide covers natural Japanese expressions for each of these uses.
Referring to physical waste, discarded items, or litter.
The most common and general word for trash, garbage, or rubbish. Can refer to household waste, litter, or anything discarded.
Please throw away the trash.
Don't litter on the street.
Refers to waste, scraps, or bits of something, often smaller or less significant than ゴミ. Can also mean 'dregs' or 'refuse'.
Collect paper scraps.
A formal term for waste materials, often used in legal, industrial, or environmental contexts.
industrial waste disposal
The action of disposing of something as trash.
The standard verb for 'to throw away' or 'to discard'. Used for physical objects.
Can I throw away these documents?
I threw away the old magazines.
Specifically means 'to put out the trash' for collection, following local garbage disposal rules.
Please put out burnable trash on Mondays.
A formal term meaning 'to discard' or 'to destroy' documents or data, often used in official contexts.
Dispose of confidential documents.
Describing something as being of very low quality, useless, or terrible.
Used metaphorically to mean 'trash' or 'garbage' in the sense of something worthless or of terrible quality. Can also refer to a contemptible person (similar to 'scum').
Also used metaphorically like クズ, but slightly less harsh. Can describe something useless or of no value.
Literally 'poor work', used to describe a badly made piece of art, literature, or product. More formal than クズ.
To damage something severely or make a mess of something.
Means 'to mess up', 'to ruin', or 'to trash' something. Very common in casual speech.
I trashed the room.
He trashed my plans.
Means 'to spoil' or 'to ruin' something, often implying that something good was made worthless.
The rain trashed (ruined) the picnic.
Means 'to vandalize', 'to trash' a place, or 'to ravage'. Often used for deliberate destruction.
To speak negatively about someone or something, often in a harsh or insulting way.
Means 'to trash-talk', 'to harshly criticize', or 'to tear apart' verbally. Strong and colloquial.
He trashed my proposal.
A very colloquial phrase meaning 'to badmouth' or 'to trash' someone/something. Literally 'to say it's tattered and shitty'.
He was trashing that movie.
A more formal term meaning 'to severely criticize' or 'to pan'. Used in reviews or formal contexts.
The critics trashed the work.
There is no single Japanese verb that directly translates 'to trash' in all contexts. Use specific verbs like 捨てる (throw away), めちゃくちゃにする (mess up), or こき下ろす (criticize harshly) depending on the meaning.
I trashed the room.
I threw away the trash.
Both can mean 'trash' metaphorically, but クズ is stronger and more insulting when referring to people. ゴミ is slightly milder and more common for objects. Use クズ with caution as it can be very offensive.
This game is trash.
This computer is trash.
That novel is trash (a poor work).
Someone trashed the garden.
That man is scum.