How do you say "messy" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "messy" is 乱雑な (Ranzan na). It is a adjective pronounced "rah-n-zah-n nah".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

乱雑な is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as Ranzan na, it sounds roughly like "rah-n-zah-n nah" to an English ear.

Example sentence

彼の部屋はとても乱雑です。

Kare no heya wa totemo ranzan desu.

His room is very messy.

Usage notes

Ranzan na (乱雑な) is a na-adjective meaning messy or disorganized. It describes physical disorder. A more casual alternative is chirakatte iru (cluttered or strewn about), which is more commonly heard in everyday speech.

Related words

Practice 乱雑な and hundreds more Japanese words in the game.

Buy on Steam

Questions about 乱雑な

How do you pronounce 乱雑な?

乱雑な is romanised as Ranzan na. Say it roughly like "rah-n-zah-n nah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 乱雑な formal or casual?

乱雑な is a na-adjective or noun-adjective. It is neutral in register and fits naturally in both casual and polite sentences. Add na before a noun, or use desu for a polite predicate.

How is 乱雑な written in Japanese?

乱雑な is written using kanji and hiragana. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.