あいつ

あ

い

つ

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

Meanings

derogatoryfamiliar languageusually written using kana alone

Derogatory or very familiar third-person pronoun for a person the speaker looks down on or is close to. Rough and masculine-leaning; not used in polite contexts.

あいつはいつも遅ち刻こくするんだよ。
That guy is always late.
あいつに任まかせたら失しっ敗ぱいするに決きまってる。
If you leave it to him, he'll definitely mess up.

pronoun

that; that one; that thing

familiar languageusually written using kana alone

Familiar and somewhat rough way to refer to an object or animal, similar to 'that thing' or 'that one'. Often implies the speaker doesn't hold the referent in high regard.

あいつ、もう動うごかなくなっちゃった。
That thing stopped working.
あいつはどこに置おいたっけ？
Where did I put that thing?

See all 621 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈事こと〉はあいつのせいだit's that guy's fault
遅ち刻こくしたのはあいつのせいだ。
Being late was that guy's fault.
あいつのくせにeven though that guy (isn't even that great)
あいつのくせに偉えらそうなことを言いうな。
Don't act all high and mighty when you're just that guy.
あいつに言いってやるto give that guy a piece of your mind
今こん度ど会あったらあいつに言いってやる。
Next time I see that guy, I'm going to tell him off.

Kanji

彼he, that, the
奴guy, slave, manservant

Related words· 6

奴やっこN1
あいつ is the modern, casual equivalent of 奴 used as a rough third-person pronoun for someone not present.
奴やつN1
あいつ points to a specific person already in mind and sounds even ruder or more distancing than 奴, which can be used more generally.
あいつら
あいつら is the plural form of あいつ, both sharing the same derogatory, familiar tone, but あいつ refers to a single person while あいつら refers to a group.
こいつ
こいつ points to someone near the speaker, while あいつ points to someone distant from both speaker and listener and often sounds even more contemptuous.

Show 2 more

そいつN1
あいつ points to someone or something distant from both speaker and listener and tends to sound more contemptuous than そいつ.
あの人ひと
あいつ is a rough, casual way to refer to someone that can sound rude or contemptuous, unlike the more polite あの人.

Politeness

彼かれpolite 丁寧語N5sense 1
彼 is the neutral, polite term for 'he', while あいつ is a rough, familiar or derogatory way to refer to the same person.
彼かの女じょpolite 丁寧語N5sense 1
彼女 is the neutral, polite term for 'she', while あいつ is a rough, familiar or derogatory way to refer to a woman.

Don't confuse with

こいつ sense 1
こいつ points to someone or something near the speaker ('this guy/thing'), while あいつ points to someone or something distant from both speaker and listener ('that guy/thing').
そいつN1sense 1
そいつ refers to someone or something near the listener ('that guy/thing' close to you), while あいつ refers to someone or something distant from both speaker and listener.

Written forms

あいつUsage93%
Standard kana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
アイツUsage5%
彼奴あいつUsage2%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; learners should recognize it but use the kana spelling.

Etymology

Developed from あやつ, an older demonstrative expression meaning “that person or thing,” through contraction and vowel change.