This article will give you all of the knowledge you need on the Japanese word jigoku, including its Japanese definition and translation, example sentences, related expressions and more!
What does jigoku mean?
Jigoku (地獄、じごく) is the Japanese word for hell or inferno. Although Japan is not a predominantly Christian country, the concept of hell has been around for a long time in both the folk and Buddhist traditions. Accordingly, we can state that jigoku is deeply rooted in Japanese culture.
In its modern usage, however, the literal usage of jigoku is fairly rare. Instead, it is often used to express something unpleasant or grueling.
For example, juken jigoku (受験地獄), or literally exam hell, refers to the university entrance exams that all Japanese high schoolers dread. Shakkin jikoku (借金地獄) stands for debt hell, or a situation when someone struggles to escape from a seemingly insurmountable financial burden.
Jigoku = Hell
Below, we take a look at some examples of how to use jigoku in Japanese.
To make it easier for you, I have written each sentence in full Japanese kanji in the first line, followed by roman letters (romaji), and hiragana, with the English meaning coming last.
僕は神様とか地獄を信じない。
Boku wa kamisama toka jigoku wo shinjinai.
ぼくはかみさまとかじごくをしんじない。
I don’t believe in stuff like gods or hell.
地獄は本当にあるかどうかは誰にも分かりません。
Jigoku wa hontou ni aru ka douka wa dare ni mo wakarimasen.
じごくはほんとうにあるかどうかはだれにもわかりません。
Nobody knows if hell really exists or not.
悪い事をしたら地獄に落ちるぞ！
Warui koto wo shitara jigoku ni ochiru zo!
わるいことをしたらじごくにおちるぞ！
If you do bad things you’ll go to hell!
一回借金地獄に落ちるとなかなか抜け出しづらい。
Ikkai shakkin jigoku ni ochiru to nakanaka nukedashi durai.
いっかいしゃっきんじごくにおちるとなかなかぬけだしづらい。
One you get overwhelmed with debt (lit: debt hell), it is really hard to escape it.
Jikoku mitai: Like hell
Jikoku mitai (da) means like hell. It is often used in this way to describe bad situations or experiences you’d rather forget.
お金がない人生は地獄みたいです。
Okane ga nai jinsei wa jigoku mitai desu.
おかねがないじんせいはじごくみたいです。
A life without money is like hell.
彼女の日常生活そのものは地獄みたいだった。
Kanojo no nichijou seikatsu sono mono wa jigoku mitai datta.
かのじょのにちじょうせいかつそのものはじごくみたいだった。
Her daily life itself was like hell.
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