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ドパガキ dopagaki
Dopamine-fried brain, usually your own.
What does dopagaki mean?
Short for ドーパミン中毒のガキ, dopamine-addicted brat: someone whose attention has been rewired by short videos and instant rewards, always reaching for the next hit. Said about yourself it is a joke; aimed at somebody else it is an insult.
Example
気づいたら二時間ショート動画を見てた。完全にドパガキだわ。
Two hours of short videos before I noticed. Total dopamine brat.
Vibe
Who you can say this to, and how it lands.
Be careful This one carries weight. Read the meaning and the story before you say it to anyone.
About yourself this usually passes as a joke. Aimed at someone else it is an insult.
Culture note
A mid-2020s coinage, and Japan's own chapter of the global brainrot conversation. Relatives include ドパ舌 and the verb ドパる.
The story behind dopagaki
ドーパミン is the pop-science shorthand everyone picked up for the brain's reward chemistry, and ガキ is an unlovely word for kid. Weld the two together and you get a mid-2020s coinage for the person who cannot sit through a silence without reaching for the next hit of stimulation. It is assembled from local parts, but it belongs to a conversation the whole internet was having at once.
The word travels with family. ドパ舌 is a tongue that only registers loud flavours, and ドパる is the verb for chasing the hit. It sits close to タイパ, the same attention economy seen from the other side: one word rations your minutes, this one admits what the rationing did to you. Almost everyone who says it is talking about themselves.
Video
Get dopagaki in your pocket
ドパガキ is one of 308 words in YABAI, a Japanese culture snack for Android. Every word comes with its meaning, an example sentence, a vibe check and a story like the one above — in 13 languages, read aloud by your device. Paid app: no ads, no sign-up, no subscription.
