やばっ
やばっ
interjection
oh no!, crap!, whoa!
1.
oh no!, crap!, uh oh!
An exclamation of alarm or panic when something goes wrong or when realizing a problem. Truncated form of やばい.
やばっ、遅刻する！
Oh no, I'm going to be late!
やばっ、財布忘れた。
Crap, I forgot my wallet.
やばっ、鍵をかけないで出てきちゃった。
Oh no, I left without locking the door.
2.
whoa!, wow!, amazing!
An exclamation of surprise or excitement when encountering something impressive or unexpectedly good. Reflects the newer positive usage of やばい.
やばっ、これ美味しい！
Whoa, this is delicious!
やばっ、あの人かっこいい。
Wow, that person is good-looking.
やばっ、この景色最高。写真撮ろう。
Wow, this view is amazing. Let's take a picture.
やばっ is the exclamatory truncation of やばい, used as a quick, spontaneous reaction. The っ (glottal stop) gives it an abrupt feel, like blurting something out.
MEANING:
The meaning depends entirely on context and tone of voice:
- Panicked/alarmed tone → 'oh no!' 'crap!' (something went wrong)
- Excited/impressed tone → 'wow!' 'whoa!' (something is amazing)
VARIATIONS:
- やば: even shorter, very casual
- やばっ: most common exclamatory form
- やばい: full adjective form (やばい状況 = a bad situation; やばい美味しさ = crazy delicious)
REGISTER:
Very informal. Used almost exclusively in casual speech among friends and in texting/social media. Not appropriate in business, formal, or polite settings. Originally slang with only a negative meaning ('dangerous, risky'), the positive sense ('amazing, awesome') spread widely among young people from the 2000s onward.