Translation guide
The English word "wasted" has several distinct meanings. This guide covers the most common uses for learners: being very drunk or under the influence of drugs, being used inefficiently or squandered, being physically weak or emaciated, and being killed or destroyed. It also includes some niche or slang uses.
To describe someone who is extremely intoxicated by alcohol or drugs, often to the point of being unable to function normally.
A common verb meaning 'to get drunk'. The past tense 酔っ払った is often used to describe being wasted.
彼は昨夜、完全に酔っ払っていた。
He was completely wasted last night.
A noun or suru-verb meaning 'dead drunk' or 'blind drunk'. It implies a very high level of intoxication.
彼は泥酔して道で寝ていた。
He was wasted and sleeping on the street.
A slang onomatopoeic word describing someone who is very drunk, often to the point of slurring or being sick. Used as a na-adjective or adverb.
昨日はベロベロになるまで飲んだ。
Yesterday I drank until I was wasted.
Slang for being high or wasted on drugs. ラリる comes from the English 'rally' but means to be under the influence.
彼は薬でラリってるみたいだ。
He seems wasted on drugs.
To describe time, money, resources, or opportunities that were not used effectively and are now lost.
A verb phrase meaning 'to waste'. It is the most direct and common translation for this meaning.
彼はチャンスを無駄にした。
He wasted his chance.
時間を無駄にしないで。
Don't waste time.
A noun or na-adjective meaning 'waste' or 'futility'. Often used in phrases like 無駄になる (to go to waste) or 無駄な (wasted).
その努力は無駄になった。
That effort was wasted.
A verb meaning 'to waste' or 'to squander', often used for money or resources.
彼は給料を全部浪費した。
He wasted his entire salary.
Means 'to ruin' or 'to spoil', implying that something was wasted because it was made useless or less enjoyable.
雨でピクニックが台無しになった。
The picnic was wasted because of the rain.
To describe a person or body part that is extremely thin and weak, often due to illness or lack of food.
A verb meaning 'to become haggard' or 'to become emaciated'. Often used to describe someone who looks wasted away.
病気で彼はすっかりやつれてしまった。
He became completely wasted by illness.
A verb meaning 'to weaken' or 'to become debilitated'. It can describe a wasted physical state.
長い闘病で彼の体は衰弱した。
His body was wasted from the long illness.
To describe someone being killed, often in a violent or casual context, or something being completely destroyed.
The standard verb for 'to kill'. In slang, it can be used like 'wasted' in English.
あいつを殺せ！
Waste that guy!
Means 'to beat' or 'to defeat', but can imply killing in a rough context.
Slang for 'to kill' or 'to rub out', similar to 'waste' in gangster movies.
裏切り者は消せ。
Waste the traitor.
Do not use 無駄 (waste) to describe a drunk person. 無駄 means inefficiency or futility, not intoxication. Use 酔っ払う or 泥酔 instead.
無駄 is a broader term for waste, futility, or uselessness. 浪費 specifically refers to squandering money or resources. For 'wasted time', 無駄 is more natural.
A compound verb meaning 'to become thin and weak'. More literary or descriptive.
彼女は痩せ衰えて、骨と皮だけになった。
She became wasted, just skin and bones.
敵をやっつけろ！
Waste the enemy!