戯言たわごと

た

わ

ご

と

Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun

nonsense; silly talk; drivel; rubbish

Refers to foolish, meaningless, or absurd speech. Often used dismissively.

彼かれの言いうことは全ぜん部ぶたわごとだ。
Everything he says is nonsense.
そんなたわごとに耳みみを貸かすな。
Don't listen to such drivel.

See all 14 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

戯言たわごとを言いうto talk nonsense
そんな戯言たわごとを言いうのはやめなさい。
Stop talking such nonsense.
戯言たわごとを並ならべるto spout a string of nonsense
彼かれは酔よって戯言たわごとを並ならべていた。
He was drunk and spouting one bit of nonsense after another.
〈人ひと〉〉の戯言たわごとだと笑わらうto laugh something off as someone's nonsense
みんな彼かれの戯言たわごとだと笑わらって聞きいていた。
Everyone just laughed it off as his nonsense.

Kanji

戯frolic, play, sport
言say, word
戲play, frolic, sport
譫delirious talk

Related words

でたらめN3
でたらめ stresses that something is random or has no basis, while 戯言 stresses that the talk itself is foolish or worthless.
バカ話ばなし
馬鹿話 is casual, often affectionate chatter about silly things, whereas 戯言 is a more literary, dismissive term for pointless or absurd speech.
寝ね言ごとN1
たわごと is a blunt, often angry way to call something foolish nonsense, while 寝言 keeps a lighter, more mocking image of someone talking in their sleep.

Don't confuse with

寝ね言ごとN1
寝言 literally means talking in one's sleep and is used figuratively for nonsense someone says while seemingly not thinking straight, while 戯言 refers to foolish talk in general without that sleep-related image.

Written forms

戯言
- たわごと
  Standard kanji spelling.
- たわこと
  out-dated reading
たわごとUsage81%
Kana spelling; common in casual writing.
たわ言Usage18%
- たわごと
  Mixed kanji-kana spelling; less common but still used.
- たわこと
  out-dated reading
タワゴトUsage1%
戲言
out-dated kanji form
- たわごと
  Out-dated kanji form; 戲 is the old form of 戯.
- たわこと
  out-dated reading
譫言
irregular kanji usage
- たわごと
  Irregular kanji usage; 譫 is not standard for this word.
- たわこと
  out-dated reading
たわこと
out-dated reading

Etymology

The exact derivation is uncertain. The kanji 戯 (play, frolic) and 言 (word) combine to suggest playful or frivolous talk, which evolved into the meaning of nonsense.