noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun
Used especially for food and drink that has not been cooked, heated, dried, or otherwise treated; also appears in expressions such as 生で食べる.
この卵は生で食べられる。
This egg can be eaten raw.
生の魚が苦手です。
I don't like raw fish.
noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun
unprocessed; unedited; as-is
Describes information, material, sound, reactions, and similar things in their unprocessed or unfiltered state, not necessarily food.
生のデータをそのまま公開するのは危険だ。
It is risky to publish the raw data as it is.
利用者の生の声を聞きたい。
I want to hear users' unfiltered opinions.
noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun
unprotected sex; bareback
Colloquial sexual slang for doing sex without a condom or other protection; often written in kana or katakana in casual contexts.
なまでしないで、必ず避妊具を使って。
Don't do it unprotected; always use contraception.
noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun
live; not recorded
Used for broadcasts, performances, events, and viewing or hearing something in real time rather than as a recording.
この番組は生放送です。
This program is a live broadcast.
その試合はテレビではなく生で見た。
I watched that game live, not on TV.
noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun
inexperienced; unpolished; crude
Used figuratively for work, ideas, skill, or a person that is still rough, immature, or not fully developed.
その企画案はまだ生で、会議に出すには早い。
That project proposal is still too rough to bring to the meeting.
noun
impudence; cheekiness
Rough colloquial abbreviation of 生意気; mainly encountered in expressions like なま言うな, meaning not to talk cheekily or act above oneself.
See also: 生意気
子供のくせに、なま言ってんじゃないよ。
Don't talk so cheekily when you're just a kid.
noun
Abbreviation of 生ビール; very common in restaurants and bars when ordering draft beer.
See also: 生ビール
とりあえず生を二つください。
We'll start with two draft beers, please.
noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'
Used for unused recording media, especially in compounds such as 生テープ; this can sound dated with older media like cassette tapes.
See also: 生テープ
昔は生テープを買ってラジオ番組を録音した。
In the old days, people bought blank tapes and recorded radio programs.
prefix
Prefix used before adjectives to mean partly, faintly, or not fully so; often lexicalized in compounds such as 生暖かい.
生暖かい風が吹いている。
A lukewarm wind is blowing.
prefix
incomplete; half-hearted; half-baked
Prefix indicating that something is insufficient, perfunctory, or not properly finished; common in fixed compounds such as 生返事 and 生半可.
生返事ばかりしないで、ちゃんと聞いて。
Don't just give half-hearted replies; listen properly.
noun
Archaic noun sense meaning cash or ready money; not used in ordinary modern Japanese with this meaning.
古い文章では、「生」が現金を指すことがある。
In old writing, 生 can refer to cash.
noun
tipsiness
Rare abbreviation of 生酔い; in modern Japanese the full form 生酔い or a word such as ほろ酔い is clearer.
See also: 生酔い
「生」は、生酔いの略として軽い酔いを指すことがある。
生 can be used as an abbreviation of 生酔い to mean slight drunkenness.
Means fresh in the sense of not old or spoiled; 生 focuses more on being raw, uncooked, live, or unprocessed.
A more explicit and often technical word for unprocessed; 生 is broader and more everyday, as in 生のデータ or 生の声.
Also means live for performances and broadcasts; ライブ is a katakana loanword, while 生 is native and appears in compounds like 生放送 and 生演奏.
The full standard word for impudent or cheeky; 生 is only a rough abbreviated use in this sense.
Native Japanese なま is conventionally written with 生, a character associated with life, freshness, and rawness. The exact historical derivation of the word is uncertain.