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悪役 (あくやく, akuyaku) Japanese meaning: villain | Kotomora
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He played the villain in that movie.
He took on the role of the bad guy at the meeting.
Usage patterns 〈 悪あく 役やく 〉 を 演えん じる to play the role of the villain
He is good at playing the villain in dramas.
〈 悪あく 役やく 〉 になる to become the villain (often figuratively, taking the blame)
He deliberately played the villain during the negotiation.
〈 悪あく 役やく 〉 を 務つと める to serve as/take on the villain's role
A famous actor took on the villain's role in that movie.
Related words 敵役 refers to an antagonist role especially in traditional or theatrical drama, while 悪役 is the broader, more modern term for a villain in any story.
悪役 specifically means the villain role in a story or film, whereas 悪 alone can refer to the abstract idea of a bad character.
悪役 is the general Japanese word for a villain in any drama or story, while ヒール is the specific pro-wrestling term for the same kind of role.
Opposites ヒーロー is the hero or protagonist of a story, the direct opposite of the 悪役 who plays the villain.
主役 is the leading, central role in a story, contrasting with 悪役, the villain's role.
悪役 is the villain or antagonist role in a story, the natural opposite of the 主人公, the hero or protagonist.
悪役 means 'villain', the role opposite the ヒロイン in a story.
Etymology Compound of 悪 (aku, 'evil') and 役 (yaku, 'role'). The reading is on'yomi. The word has been used since at least the Edo period in kabuki and later in modern media.
