Sections
Yatsu (やつ): what it means in anime
やつ
やつ · yatsu · guy; thing (casual) Not on JLPT lists
Yatsu means "guy", "fellow" or "thing" in casual speech. It is how characters refer to a person or object without any respect, and it is everywhere in shounen dialogue.
Where you hear it 15 of 42 series
Lines from the Japanese subtitles of episodes 1–3 of each show. A translation is shown only when it clearly matches the line; counts are subtitle lines containing the word.
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Haikyu!! · 25 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 2
こ… こんなサーブ打つやつ—
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Tokyo Ghoul · 16 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 2
店長 なんで あんなやつに…
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Naruto · 14 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 2
あやつに アホなことを――
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Erased · 12 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
ああ… 走馬灯ってやつだ―
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Psycho-Pass · 12 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
気に入らねえやつは ぶち殺す！
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Spy x Family · 11 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
これで やつを辞任に追い込める
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Cowboy Bebop · 11 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
やつらは火星に行くつもりだぜ
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Horimiya · 9 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
お前 いいやつだな… うう…
Also in: No Game No Life, Code Geass, KonoSuba, Chainsaw Man, My Hero Academia, Noragami, Your Lie in April.
Usage and nuance
あのやつ is "that guy", いいやつ is "a good guy", 悪いやつ is "a bad guy". Attached to things it means "the thing": 赤いやつ is "the red one". Written 奴 in kanji, it is usually left in kana in subtitles and manga.
It is not quite an insult, but it is far from polite, and it is overwhelmingly male speech. Female characters who use やつ are being deliberately rough.
Combined with demonstratives it becomes こいつ, そいつ and あいつ, which is why those three words sound the way they do.
Hear やつ in Haikyu!!25 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account