What does “なめるな” mean in English?
It's a warning not to underestimate or disrespect the speaker. Literally, it means 'don't lick.'
Literally “don't lick”
You might encounter it as a confrontational phrase, similar to telling someone 'don't mess with me' in English. It's informal and can carry a bit of bite, but it's not the strongest insult.
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Related Japanese words
すけべ
2/5 · Coarsesukebe
This refers to someone who is lecherous or has a dirty mind. It's often used in a teasing context.
ガキ
2/5 · Coarsegaki
It's a rude way to refer to a child, often implying they're annoying or troublesome. The literal translation is 'brat.'
キモい
2/5 · Coarsekimoi
It means something is creepy or gross. It's a casual shortening of the phrase 'kimochi warui,' which literally means 'bad feeling.'
戯言
2/5 · Coarsetawagoto
It refers to rubbish or nonsense spoken by someone. It's a dismissive way to call out someone's foolishness.
About this data
Swear Atlas is a source-attested, AI-curated reference — not a native-speaker-certified dictionary. Meanings and the 1–5 Burn Rating are approximate editorial assessments that vary with context, region, tone and speaker. Inclusion of a word does not constitute endorsement of its use.
The literal gloss is a short editorial translation to show word-for-word sense, not an etymological claim.
“Sounds like” is an English-friendly approximation of how the word sounds, not an authoritative pronunciation. Where shown, the romanisation is a conventional Latin-script transliteration of the original spelling.
Term attested via Viddexa SafeText (MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.