中二病(ちゅうにびょう)

ちゅうにびょう
noun
adolescent delusions of grandeur
informalcolloquialinternet
1. adolescent delusions of grandeur, chuunibyou syndrome
A colloquial term for the tendency of early teenagers (around second year of middle school, age 13-14) to act as if they have special powers, secret knowledge, or a dark and mysterious persona. Used humorously and self-deprecatingly.
あの子(こ)は中二病(ちゅうにびょう)だ。
That kid has chuunibyou syndrome.
中学生(ちゅうがくせい)の頃(ころ)、中二病(ちゅうにびょう)をこじらせていた。
When I was in middle school, I had a bad case of chuunibyou.
黒(くろ)い服(ふく)ばかり着(き)て「闇(やみ)の力(ちから)」とか言(い)ってたのは、まさに中二病(ちゅうにびょう)だった。
Always wearing black and talking about 'the power of darkness' — that was peak chuunibyou.

中二病(ちゅうにびょう) literally means "second-year-of-middle-school disease." It was coined by radio personality 伊集院光(いじゅういんひかる) in the late 1990s.

Typical symptoms include

  • Pretending to have supernatural powers or a hidden identity
  • Adopting a dark, edgy persona
  • Using grandiose or foreign-sounding phrases
  • Rejecting mainstream things as "for ordinary people"

Common collocations

  • 中二病(ちゅうにびょう)をこじらせる (have a severe case of chuunibyou)
  • 中二病(ちゅうにびょう)全開(ぜんかい) (full-on chuunibyou)
  • 黒歴史(くろれきし) (dark history — embarrassing past behavior, often related to chuunibyou)

The term has become widely known through anime and internet culture, and most adults look back on their own 中二病(ちゅうにびょう) phase with embarrassment.

general
Added 2026.2.16 7:42 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
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