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ボロクソに言う (ぼろくそにいう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
expression, godan verb (-u)
badmouth ; trash ; slam ; run down
Colloquial and emphatic; used when someone harshly criticizes or speaks very ill of a person or thing. ボロクソ literally suggests 'like trash/dung', adding a vulgar, dismissive tone.
映えい
画が
を
ボロクソ
に
言い
う
人ひと
は
多おお
い
。
Many people trash that movie.
Written forms ボロクソに 言い う
Common katakana spelling for the emphatic adverbial part ボロクソ.
ぼろくそに 言い う
Hiragana spelling is also used, but katakana is more typical for the emphatic mimetic element.
Similar words けなす けなす is a standard verb for 'to speak ill of' or 'to disparage', while ボロクソに言う is a more colloquial, emphatic expression with a vulgar nuance.
こき 下お ろす こき下ろす also means 'to criticize harshly' or 'to run down', but it is slightly less slangy and more focused on thorough, relentless criticism.
Etymology The adverbial ボロクソ is a compound of ぼろ (rags, trash) and くそ (dung, excrement), used together to intensify the negative meaning of 言う (to say). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it likely emerged as a colloquial, emphatic expression.
