めちゃめちゃ

〈物もの〉がめちゃめちゃになるfor something to become a total mess or ruin
台たい風ふうで庭にわがめちゃめちゃになった。
The garden was left in complete disarray after the typhoon.
めちゃめちゃな〈事こと〉an absurd or unreasonable thing (plan, demand, etc.)
彼かれの要よう求きゅうはめちゃめちゃだ。
His demands are completely unreasonable.
めちゃめちゃ〈形けい容よう詞し〉extremely ~ (intensifier before an adjective)
このラーメン、めちゃめちゃおいしい。
This ramen is incredibly delicious.
〈場ば所しょ〉をめちゃめちゃにするto wreck or trash a place
子こ供どもたちが部屋へやをめちゃめちゃにした。
The kids trashed the room.

Kanji

目eye, class, look
茶tea
滅destroy, ruin, overthrow

Related words

めちゃくちゃN3
めちゃめちゃ and めちゃくちゃ are near-synonyms meaning 'messy' or 'absurd', but めちゃくちゃ is slightly more common and can also mean 'nonsensical' or 'illogical', while めちゃめちゃ emphasizes disorder or excess.
無む茶ちゃN1sense 2
無茶 refers specifically to reckless or unreasonable behavior or demands, while めちゃめちゃ covers both physical disorder and excessive, unreasonable actions.
乱らん雑ざつN1sense 1
乱雑 is a more formal, written word for physical clutter or disorder, whereas めちゃめちゃ is casual and can also describe abstract ruin or absurdity.
ぐちゃぐちゃN2sense 1
ぐちゃぐちゃ describes a wet, mushy, or physically jumbled mess, while めちゃめちゃ is broader and can include abstract ruin or unreasonableness.
粉こな々ごなN1
めちゃめちゃ describes a messy, chaotic state of destruction in general, while 粉々 focuses narrowly on physical breakage into tiny fragments.

Opposites

整せい然ぜんN1sense 1
整然 describes things being neatly and logically ordered, the direct opposite of めちゃめちゃ's sense of disorder and ruin.

Written forms

めちゃめちゃUsage73%
Standard kana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
メチャメチャUsage23%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling used for emphasis or in informal writing.
滅め茶ちゃ滅め茶ちゃUsage2%
ateji (phonetic kanji usage)
Ateji kanji spelling; rarely used in modern writing.
目め茶ちゃ目め茶ちゃUsage2%
ateji (phonetic kanji usage)
Ateji kanji spelling; rarely used in modern writing.

Etymology

Reduplicative mimetic word; the exact origin is uncertain, but it likely derives from the sound-symbolic element めちゃ, which suggests disorder or breaking. The kanji forms are ateji.