ずるい (zurui) means “unfair,” “sly,” or “cheating.” It can be a playful complaint when someone gets an advantage, or a serious criticism of dishonest conduct. ずるをする means to cheat. The character 狡 can write the word, though kana is common.
also zurui / zurukatta / ずるい人 / ずる休み
that's not fair · sly · cheating
Sentences
ずるい · the playground line
plain。
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それ
それ
that
pronoun · stands alone, where その needs a noun
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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ずるい
ずるい
not fair
い-adjective · written in kana; the kanji 狡い is effectively dead
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よ
よ
I'm telling you
sentence particle · pushes the complaint at the listener
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Hey, that's not fair!
〜だけ · the comparison
plain。
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兄
あに ［1］
my older brother
noun · your own brother to an outsider; お兄さん is someone else's
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だけ
だけ
only
particle · marks the one who got the advantage
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ずるい
ずるい
no fair
い-adjective · the whole complaint, no verb needed
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How come only my brother gets one? No fair.
ずるをする · the act
plain past。
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彼
かれ ［1］
he
pronoun · also boyfriend, depending on context
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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テスト
テスト
test
loanword noun · 試験 is the formal equivalent
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で
で
in; at — where it happens
particle · where the action happens, or the manner it happens in
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ずるをした
ずるをした
cheated
noun ずる ＋ する · the concrete act, not the verdict
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He cheated on the test.
ずるい ＋ 名詞 · the hard use
polite。
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ずるい
ずるい
calculating; always ahead
い-adjective in front of a noun · a real character judgement here
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人
ひと ［0］
person
noun · read ひと standing alone
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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なりたくない
なりたくない
don't want to become
negative たい of なる · に marks what you would become
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です
です
(polite ending)
copula · politeness on a ない-form, which behaves like an い-adjective
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I'd rather not become that kind of operator.
やり方 · unfair methods
polite。
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そんな
そんな
that kind of
demonstrative · needs a noun, and carries mild disapproval
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ずるい
ずるい
underhanded
い-adjective in front of a noun · no な, ever
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やり方
やりかた ［0］
way of doing it
noun from やる ＋ 方 · the method someone chose
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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よくない
よくない
isn't right
negative of いい · irregular, so よくない and never いくない
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です
です
(polite ending)
copula · politeness only — よくない is a complete predicate already
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Winning that way isn't on.
ずるい · the compliment
plain。
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その
その
that
demonstrative · points at something the listener just said
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言い方
いいかた ［0］
way of putting it
noun from 言う ＋ 方 · the phrasing, not the content
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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ずるい
ずるい
unfair, in the good way
い-adjective · the modern use — you were charmed with no chance to resist
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That's not fair, putting it like that.
Forms
ずるい
Shouted on its own, this is the playground line — no fair. Between adults it stays light as long as the tone does.
Thing ＋ は＋ずるい
それはずるいよ. Naming what was unfair turns a yelp into an actual objection, and it is the form to use with someone you are not close to.
ずるい＋人 / やり方
ずるい人, ずるいやり方. Attached to a noun it hardens: this is the character-judgement use, and it is not playful.
ずる＋をする / 休み
テストでずるをする, to cheat on a test. ずる休み, skiving off. The bare noun ずる is the concrete act, where ずるい is the verdict.
Meaning
The everyday ずるい is about a distribution, not a personality. A sibling gets the bigger half, a colleague gets the good shift, somebody skipped the queue — ずるい. It is the first complaint a Japanese child learns to make and it stays in the adult vocabulary unchanged.
汚い means dirty, and used of behaviour it means dirty dealing: 汚いやり方, a filthy tactic. It is a step up from ずるい and carries no playfulness at all. 卑怯 is another step up again — cowardly and underhanded, the word for someone who wins by refusing a fair fight.
Attach it to a noun and it stops being light. ずるい！ shouted at a friend is banter. ずるい人ですね said evenly about a colleague is a serious thing to have said out loud, and everyone in the room will hear it that way.
The newest use is a compliment. その言い方はずるい — that way of putting it is unfair — means you were charmed against your will. Young speakers extend it happily: a cute animal, a perfect line in a song, a smile at the right moment are all ずるい. The logic is that they won without giving you a chance to resist.
Inside the word
It exists: 狡, the beast radical 犭 plus a phonetic, also read こう in 狡猾, crafty. It is outside the everyday list, so real text writes ずるい or ズルい and leaves the character to dictionaries.
The bare noun ずる is the act: ずるをする to cheat, ずる休み a sick day you are not sick for. It is generally traced to ずるずる, dragging — the image of edging your way along instead of walking it straight.
ずるい as praise turns up constantly online: a line in a song, a look, a cat. The move is the same one English makes with "that's not fair" about something adorable — the charge is that you were won over before you could put up a defence.
Watch out
Between friends it is banter. Said to somebody you do not know — a queue-jumper, a colleague two ranks up — it lands as a direct accusation of bad character. The safer objection names the act: 順番、抜かしましたよ, you skipped the queue.
彼はずるい is a verdict about the person. 彼はずるをした is a report of one act. For specifically copying in an exam the usual word is a false friend: カンニング.
卑怯 means cowardly and underhanded, and 卑怯者 is a hard thing to call somebody. It has none of ずるい's lightness — if you meant no fair, it is a serious overshoot.
Also asked
Usually just “that's not fair” — somebody got an advantage they did not earn. Dictionaries lead with sly and cunning, which are far heavier than the everyday use. It only becomes a character judgement when you attach it to a noun: ずるい人.
Depends entirely on the relationship. Shouted at a friend it is banter and extremely common. Said evenly to a colleague or a stranger it is an accusation, and people will hear it as one. When in doubt, object to the act rather than to the person.
The kanji 狡い is outside the everyday list, so printed Japanese uses ずるい, and casual writing often uses ズルい for emphasis. You will meet the character mainly in 狡猾, crafty.
ずるい is the judgement — that is unfair, or they are a chancer. ずるをする is the concrete act of cheating. For copying in an exam specifically, Japanese borrows English and says カンニング.
Yes, and among younger speakers it constantly is. その笑顔はずるい means that smile is unfair — you were charmed with no chance to defend yourself. It is the same move English makes when something is too cute to argue with.
Several notches. 卑怯 is cowardly and underhanded — winning by refusing a fair contest — and 卑怯者 is close to the strongest thing you can call someone about their conduct. ずるい is what a seven-year-old says about the bigger slice.
References
Kotobank: 狡い — Contains the ずるい sense of acting cleverly for personal advantage.
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