Japanese word

ぜ

Pronunciation

Romajize

Meaning

  • particleyou know

Example

友達は「これは簡単だぜ」と言います。tomo dachi wa ko re wa kan tan da ze to i i ma su

My friend says, "This is easy, you know."

Illustration for ぜ (you know)

More examples

彼は「明日は休みだぜ」と教えてくれました。kare wa asu wa yasu mi da ze to oshi e te ku re ma shi ta

He told me, "Tomorrow is a day off, you know."

Core concept

Marks a statement as strongly felt or asserted, giving it a familiar and sometimes rough tone.

Similar words

よyo: Adds emphasis to a statement in a generally neutral conversational tone.
ぞzo: Adds strong emphasis to an assertion and often gives it a forceful masculine tone.
ねne: Adds a sense of shared awareness or invites agreement with a statement.

Definition in Japanese

話し手の気持ちを強く表し、聞き手に伝えようとする文末に付く語。hana shi te no ki mo chi o tsuyo ku arawa shi ki ki te ni tsuta e yō to su ru bun matsu ni tsu ku go

Word origin

The sentence-final particle ぜ (ze) is often explained as a shortened form of ぞえ (zoe), combining ぞ (zo, "emphasis") and え (e, "exclamation").

Usage tips

  • The familiar line ending ぜ (ze) appears frequently in fictional dialogue to give a character a bold or rough speaking style, although real speakers also use it in casual settings.

Other meanings

  • indeedparticle

Word lists with this word