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Question Correct way to call someone "trouble"

Shikimaru

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13 Feb 2019
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What would be the correct way in Japanese to call someone "trouble". In like the slang way. For example like when people see an attractive girl and say "she's trouble" or like "he looks nice but he's trouble". If that makes sense?...

I know there's like 面倒, 悩み, andトラブル with meaning trouble but would any of these be okay to use in this context?

I'm kind of guessing トラブル would be the most accurate for this (?) but I'm looking for like an actual Japanese word or kanji to use for this.

Thanks!
 
I don't know the answer, but I think the first thing you want to do is outline what you mean by "trouble". I don't tend to use this term that often, but my understanding of the term is pretty much "someone who does things or has qualities I don't like", i.e. it's actually really vague and context-dependent. Any given intention or situation might be a completely different word in Japanese. And it might not even be a word at all.

Just as an example, if by "trouble" you mean you shouldn't hang out with that person because they're dangerous, I wonder if it might just be 危ない. (I don't know for sure if it is, by the way, just my first guess; I'm a total novice when it comes to Japanese.)
 
I think the usage of "trouble" in this case is very idiomatic, and therefore if you look for a one-to-one translation for trouble with this nuance you will not find it. (So, you are right to be suspicious of 面倒 and トラブル).

In your example, its ambiguous (even in English) as to what "trouble" means, and it will only become clear through the context. You could say あの子は大変 or あの子は危険, and then clarify it by context, but just the words 大変 or 危険 by themselves don't contain this meaning, and indeed they are likely to leave a different impression when seen in isolation.

Sorry its not a satisfying answer. Maybe you are looking for something more like 小悪魔? (little devil) which can have a flirtatious meaning.
 
Just as an example, if by "trouble" you mean you shouldn't hang out with that person because they're dangerous, I wonder if it might just be 危ない. (I don't know for sure if it is, by the way, just my first guess; I'm a total novice when it comes to Japanese.)
I've also heard 危ない used in the context (Japanese women discussing Italian men!)
 
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