くだらない (kudaranai) means “worthless,” “trivial,” or “ridiculous.” It judges something as lacking value or substance, often more sharply than つまらない, “boring.” The kanji spelling 下らない exists, but the familiar story about inferior goods that did not travel down from the capital is disputed.
also kudaranai / kudaranakatta / 下らない / くだらねえ
worthless, not worth the time · silly, stupid · trivial
Sentences
6 sentences, word by word
くだらない話 · attached to a noun
plain past
。
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夜中
よなか ［3］
the middle of the night
noun · 夜中の二時 is the usual way to say 2 a.m.
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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二時
にじ ［1］
two o'clock
time noun · 時 is the hour counter
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まで
まで
until
particle · the endpoint of the stretch of time
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くだらない
くだらない
pointless; not worth the breath
い-adjective attributive · attaches straight to 話
くだらないN2worthless · silly
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話
はなし ［3］
talk; chat
noun from 話す · a conversation or a story
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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してた
してた
was doing
contraction of していた · casual speech drops the い
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We stayed up until two talking about nothing.
くだらない · as a verdict
polite
、。
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正直
しょうじき ［3］
honestly; frankly
noun used adverbially · 正直に言うと in full
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その
その
that
demonstrative · points at something already in the conversation
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議論
ぎろん ［1］
argument; debate
noun · 議論する to debate something out
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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くだらない
くだらない
pointless; worthless
い-adjective predicate · a blunt judgement on the thing
くだらないN2worthless · pointless
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と
と
quotative
particle · marking the opinion that follows
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思います
おもいます
I think
polite form of 思う · softens the verdict slightly
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Honestly, that argument is pointless.
くだらないこと · fighting over nothing
plain past
。
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本当に
ほんとうに ［5］
really; genuinely
adverb from 本当 · intensifying what follows
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くだらない
くだらない
trivial; not worth it
い-adjective attributive · the standard こと frame
くだらないN2trivial · worthless
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こと
こと
the act of; the fact of
noun · turns the verb in front into a noun
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で
で
over; because of
particle · the cause of the fight
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喧嘩
けんか ［0］
a fight; an argument
noun · 喧嘩する to quarrel
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して
して
did and
て-form of する · linking into しまった
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しまった
しまった
unfortunately; and I regret it
てしまう in past · regret about how it went
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We had a fight over something completely trivial.
くだらない番組 · about media
plain
。
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最近
さいきん ［0］
lately; recently
noun used adverbially · no particle needed
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テレビ
テレビ
TV
noun · loanword, always katakana
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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くだらない
くだらない
not worth watching
い-adjective attributive · a judgement on the content
くだらないN2worthless · silly
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番組
ばんぐみ ［0］
programme; show
noun · the specific broadcast, not the set
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ばかり
ばかり
nothing but
particle · everything is this and nothing else
ばかりN4nothing but · only
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だ
だ
plain copula
copula · the plain assertion, casual register
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Lately there's nothing on TV worth watching.
つまらない · the contrast
plain past
。
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映画
えいが ［1,0］
film; movie
noun · 映画を見る to watch one
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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つまらなかった
つまらなかった
was boring
past of つまらない · about your experience of it
つまらないN4boring · dull
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けど
けど
but
conjunction · casual contrast
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くだらなくはなかった
くだらなくはなかった
wasn't worthless
negative of くだらない with は · marking the contrast
くだらないN2worthless · pointless
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The film was dull, but it wasn't worthless.
くだらない冗談 · a joke that missed
polite
。
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父
ちち ［2］
my father
noun · 父 about your own, お父さん about someone else's
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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いつも
いつも
always
adverb · habitual frequency
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くだらない
くだらない
silly; corny
い-adjective attributive · affectionate here, not cruel
くだらないN2silly · worthless
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冗談
じょうだん ［3］
joke
noun · 冗談を言う to tell one
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ばかり
ばかり
nothing but
particle · complaining that it is only ever this
ばかりN4nothing but · only
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言います
いいます
says; tells
polite form of 言う · 冗談を言う is the set phrase
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My father only ever tells silly jokes.
Forms
How くだらない gets used
くだらない＋こと / 話 / 番組
くだらない話. A pointless story. The most common shape by far, and the one that shows up in speech every day.
Thing ＋ は＋くだらない
この議論はくだらない. Stated as a verdict on the thing itself, which makes it noticeably blunter than the attributive use.
くだらない＋（な / よ）
Thrown at something you have just seen or heard. Dismissive, and among friends usually said with a laugh rather than real anger.
くだらな＋かった
Standard い-adjective past. Do not treat the ない as a verb negative — くだらなくなかった is not a thing anyone says.
Meaning
くだらない vs つまらない vs 無駄
くだらない is a judgement about worth. The thing had nothing in it: no point, no substance, nothing you gained by being there. That is why it lands harder than a complaint about being bored.
つまらない is about your experience. A lecture can be つまらない and still be important. Say くだらない about the same lecture and you have told the room the content itself was worthless.
無駄 is about waste.無駄な時間 is time that produced nothing — the focus is the cost, not the quality. Something can be worth doing and still be 無駄 if it failed, and something くだらない can be a fine way to spend an evening.
Aimed at a person's work, it stings. Calling a colleague's proposal くだらない is not a soft critique. If you want to disagree without the insult, ちょっと違うと思います or あまり意味がないかもしれません do the job.
Inside the word
くだらない — a disputed origin
下らない — a disputed origin
The spelling resembles a negative of 下る, to descend. A popular story links it to goods sent down from the capital, but that account is disputed; do not treat the spelling as proof of it.
A negative in shape, an adjective in behaviour
It looks like a verb negative, and it conjugates like an ordinary い-adjective: くだらなかった, くだらなくて. The same is true of つまらない, もったいない and 仕方がない — frozen negatives that became words in their own right.
くだらん and くだらねえ
くだらん clips the ending and sounds gruff or old-fashioned; くだらねえ is the rough masculine form you hear in fiction. Both are the same word with the register dialled down.
Watch out
Where くだらない goes wrong
Using it where you mean つまらない
If you were bored, say つまらなかった. くだらない claims the thing itself had no value, which is a much bigger statement about someone else's work.
Aiming it at a colleague's idea
It is close to “that's rubbish.” To push back without the insult, try あまり意味がないかもしれません or ちょっと違うと思います.
Conjugating the ない as a verb ending
The past is くだらなかった, not くだらないでした, and there is no くだります behind it. Treat the whole thing as one い-adjective.
Also asked
Questions people ask about くだらない
What's the difference between くだらない and つまらない?
つまらない reports that you were bored; くだらない judges the thing as having no value. A dull but important lecture is つまらない and is not くだらない.
Is くだらない rude?
It can be. Among friends about a TV show or a bad joke it is casual and often affectionate. Directed at someone's work or opinion it reads as “that's worthless,” so it lands as an insult.
Why does it look like a negative verb?
Because it started as one — the negative of 下る, to come down. It froze into an adjective, which is why it takes かった and くて like any other い-adjective.
How do I write it in kanji?
下らない. Kana is far more common in everyday writing, and the kanji form shows up mostly in novels and older text.
くだらない or 無駄 for wasted time?
無駄 is about waste — nothing came of it. くだらない is about worth — there was nothing in it to begin with. An evening of silly jokes can be くだらない without being 無駄 at all.
What is くだらん?
The same word with the ending clipped. くだらん is blunt and slightly old-fashioned; くだらねえ is rougher still. Both are speech, never writing.
