うるさい (urusai) means “noisy,” “annoying,” or “fussy.” It can refer to loud sounds, persistent complaints, or someone particular about details, as in 味にうるさい. Used alone as a command, it can sound like “Be quiet!” and is blunt.
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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とても
とても
very
adverb · neutral intensifier, fine in polite speech
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うるさい
うるさい
loud; noisy
い-adjective · the literal sense, and always a complaint
うるさいN5noisy · annoying · fussy
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です
です
polite copula
copula · い-adjective ＋ です, no だ
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The construction next door is really loud.
口うるさい · a nagging parent
plain
。
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母
はは ［1］
my mother
noun · the humble word for your own; お母さん for someone else's
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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何でも
なんでも ［0］
everything; anything at all
何 ＋ でも · covers the whole range
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口うるさい
くちうるさい ［5］
nags; goes on about it
compound adjective · 口 mouth ＋ うるさい
うるさいN5nagging · noisy · fussy
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My mum nags about everything.
味にうるさい · particular
plain
。
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彼
かれ ［1］
he
pronoun · third person
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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食べ物
たべもの ［3］
food
noun · 食べる ＋ 物, literally 'eating things'
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に
に
about; when it comes to
particle · marks the domain of the fussiness
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うるさい
うるさい
particular; fussy
い-adjective · the 〜にうるさい frame, which can be admiring
うるさいN5fussy · noisy · nagging
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He's very particular about food.
うるさい! · shut up
plain
！。
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うるさい
うるさい
shut up
い-adjective standing alone · a complete, rude sentence
うるさいN5shut up · noisy
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今
いま ［1］
now
noun used adverbially · needs no particle
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勉強
べんきょう ［0］
study
noun · 勉強する makes it a verb
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してる
してる
am doing
している with the い dropped · casual speech
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の
の
explanatory ending
particle · frames the sentence as the reason for the shout
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Shut up! I'm trying to study.
うるさかった · a past complaint
plain past
、。
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昨日
きのう ［2］
yesterday
noun used adverbially · with 夜 makes 'last night'
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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夜
よる ［1］
night; evening
noun · 夜 is the period, 晩 is more like the evening of a day
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電車
でんしゃ ［0,1］
train
noun · 電 electric ＋ 車 vehicle
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が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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うるさかった
うるさかった
was noisy
past of うるさい · い swaps for かった
うるさいN5noisy · annoying
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The train was noisy last night.
静かにして · asking politely instead
polite
。
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もう少し
もうすこし ［4］
a little more
もう ＋ 少し · adds to what is already there
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静か
しずか ［1］
quiet
な-adjective · takes に to become an adverb
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に
に
adverbial marker
particle · な-adjectives use に where い-adjectives use く
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して
して
do; make it
て-form of する · a request when followed by ください
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ください
ください
please
polite request · softer than して alone
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Could you keep it down a little, please?
Forms
The four frames うるさい appears in
Sound / place ＋ が＋うるさい
工事の音がうるさい. The literal sense. The subject can be the noise itself or the place that is full of it.
Person ＋ は＋うるさい
母がうるさい. Not loud — nagging. Whether it means noisy or naggy depends entirely on context, and with a parent it is almost always the second.
Topic ＋ に＋うるさい
味にうるさい, 服にうるさい. Particular about it — high standards, and a willingness to say so. The に is doing all the work.
うるさい＋（!）
Shut up. A complete sentence and a rude one. うるせえ is the rougher spoken form you will hear in anime and arguments.
Meaning
うるさい vs 静かじゃない vs しつこい
うるさい often carries a complaint. It is usually more evaluative than a neutral measurement of decibels. That is why it can attach to a person, a rule or a taste without changing shape.
静かじゃない is the neutral description. A café that is not quiet is 静かじゃない; a café you resent for being loud is うるさい. If you are writing a review and want to sound fair rather than annoyed, the negative of 静か is the safer choice.
しつこい is persistence, not volume. A salesman who will not leave, a stain that will not come out, a flavour that lingers too long. A nagging parent can be either, and the difference is that うるさい objects to the commentary while しつこい objects to the repetition.
The 〜にうるさい frame can be a compliment.彼はコーヒーにうるさい means he knows his coffee and will not accept bad coffee. Said warmly it is admiration; said flatly it is a warning about who you are taking to lunch.
Inside the word
うるさい — cicadas and kanji jokes
五月蝿い — “May flies”
The spelling evokes flies in the fifth month and is ateji: the characters were picked for the image, not the sound. Its link to Natsume Sōseki is a popular attribution, not a settled origin. It turns up in older novels and in the occasional stylish sign.
Why the noise metaphor spreads so far
Every sense of うるさい is about something reaching you when you would rather it did not: sound, commentary, standards. Japanese does not need a separate word for a nagging parent because the complaint is structurally identical to the complaint about a drill outside.
うるせえ and the rough register
うるさい → うるせえ is a general spoken pattern: あい collapses to a long えー. The same shift gives you 痛い → いてえ and やばい → やべえ; すごい → すげえ is the parallel おい collapse. It is blunt, masculine-coded, and everywhere in fiction.
Watch out
Where うるさい goes wrong
Using it as a neutral description
うるさい is a complaint by construction. If you are describing a lively restaurant without objecting to it, にぎやか is the positive word and 静かじゃない is the neutral one.
Saying うるさい to someone senior
Alone it means shut up, and even in a sentence it is direct. To a boss, a stranger or a customer, ask for the thing you want instead: もう少し静かにしていただけますか.
Missing the 〜にうるさい frame
彼はワインにうるさい does not mean he is loud about wine — it means he knows wine and is hard to please. Whenever に appears in front, read it as “particular about,” not “noisy.”
Also asked
Questions people ask about うるさい
Does うるさい mean shut up?
Shouted on its own, yes — うるさい! is a rude “shut up.” Inside a sentence it is the ordinary adjective for noisy or annoying. Tone and whether it stands alone are what separate the two.
Can うるさい describe a person who isn't loud?
Constantly. 母がうるさい almost always means she nags, not that she shouts. 口うるさい makes the nagging sense explicit if you want to be unambiguous.
What does 味にうるさい mean?
Fussy about flavour — high standards and vocal about them. The 〜にうるさい frame works for anything: 服にうるさい particular about clothes, 音にうるさい an audiophile. It can be admiring.
Why is it written 五月蝿い?
Ateji — kanji chosen for the picture rather than the sound, evoking the swarm of flies in the fifth lunar month. It is a literary spelling associated with Sōseki, and modern writing uses kana.
うるさい or しつこい?
うるさい objects to the noise or the commentary; しつこい objects to the persistence. A salesman who keeps calling back is しつこい; a colleague who comments on everything is うるさい.
How do I politely ask someone to be quieter?
もう少し静かにしていただけますか — could you be a little quieter. Aim at the outcome rather than at the person. うるさいです to a stranger is a confrontation, not a request.
