中二病(ちゅうにびょう)

ちゅうにびょう
noun
adolescent delusions of grandeur
informalcolloquialinternetpersonalityculture
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

Related words

  • 黒歴史(くろれきし): one's 'dark history', embarrassing past behavior, often from a 中二病(ちゅうにびょう) phase

Usage

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.

Related Words

Compare: 黒歴史(くろれきし) (embarrassing past)
general
Added 2026.2.16 7:42 · Revised 2026.10.19 9:24
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