くず

く

ず

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

usually written using kana alone

Refers to physical refuse, leftovers, or worthless remnants. Can also be used metaphorically for something of no value.

工こう場じょうから出でるくずをリサイクルする。

We recycle the waste from the factory.

紙かみくずをゴミ箱ばこに捨すててください。

Please throw the paper scraps in the trash can.

2

scum; piece of trash; loser

usually written using kana alone

Strongly derogatory term for a contemptible person; used as an insult. Often written in katakana for emphasis.

〈事こと〉をするとくずが出でるscraps/waste are produced when doing something
野や菜さいを切きると野や菜さいくずがたくさん出でる。
Cutting up vegetables produces a lot of scraps.
人にん間げんのくずthe scum of humanity (a fixed insult)
彼かれは人ひとを裏うら切ぎって金かねを奪うばう、人にん間げんのくずだ。
He betrays people and steals their money—he's scum.
〈人ひと〉はくずだsomeone is trash/scum (as an insult)
あんな約やく束そくを破やぶるなんて、お前まえはくずだ。
Breaking a promise like that—you're trash.

ごみN5sense 1
ゴミ is the neutral, everyday word for trash or garbage, while くず emphasizes worthlessness and is often used figuratively or as an insult.
ろくでなし sense 2
ろくでなし describes a good-for-nothing, lazy or worthless person in a more resigned tone, while くず is a harsher, more contemptuous insult calling someone scum.
かす sense 1
カス refers to dregs or residue left after something useful has been extracted, while くず is broader, covering any kind of scrap, waste, or worthless remnant.
下げ種す
屑 is a casual, contemptuous term for a worthless person, close in force to 下種 but less specifically about crudeness of character.

葛くず
葛 and 屑 are pronounced identically (くず), but 葛 names the kudzu plant while 屑 means scraps, waste, or a worthless person.
ぼろN2
屑 refers to any scrap or waste material (paper, wood, etc.), while ぼろ refers specifically to old, worn-out cloth.

くずUsage46%
Usually written in kana; the kanji 屑 is also used but less common in everyday writing.
クズUsage29%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling, often used for emphasis or in informal contexts.
屑くずUsage25%
Kanji form; recognized but kana is more common.

The origin is uncertain; the kanji 屑 has been used historically for fragments and waste, and the reading くず is native Japanese.

trash; junk; garbage · worthless product; defective goods

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