ポイ捨すて

also: ぽいすて

ポ

イ

す

て

JLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

littering; carelessly tossing away

Refers to casually throwing away small trash like cigarette butts, cans, or wrappers in public places. Often used in signs and campaigns.

公こう園えんでのポイ捨すてはやめましょう。
Let's stop littering in the park.
タバコのポイ捨すてに罰ばっ金きんが科かせられる。
A fine is imposed for carelessly tossing away cigarette butts.

See all 11 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉でポイ捨すてをするto litter (in a place)
公こう園えんでタバコの吸すい殻がらをポイ捨すてする人ひとが多おおい。
Many people litter cigarette butts in the park.
ポイ捨すて禁きん止しno littering (sign/rule)
この道みちには「ポイ捨すて禁きん止し」の看かん板ばんが立たっている。
There's a 'no littering' sign standing along this street.
ポイ捨すてを注ちゅう意いするto warn someone about littering
店てん員いんはポイ捨すてをする客きゃくに注ちゅう意いした。
The store clerk warned the customer who was littering.

Kanji

捨discard, throw away, abandon

Related words

不ふ法ほう投とう棄き
ポイ捨て is casually tossing small trash like cans or wrappers, while 不法投棄 refers to more serious illegal dumping of larger waste.
投なげ捨すてる
投げ捨てる is the verb meaning 'to throw away carelessly,' whereas ポイ捨て is the noun naming the act of littering itself.

Written forms

ポイ捨すてUsage95%
Standard katakana-kanji spelling; the katakana part mimics the sound of tossing something away.
ぽい捨すてUsage5%
Hiragana variant of the same mimetic element; less common but still seen.
ぽいすて

Etymology

Compound of the mimetic word ポイ (poi), representing the sound or motion of casually tossing something, and 捨て (sute, 'throwing away'). The exact origin is uncertain, but it likely emerged in modern Japanese to describe littering behavior.