Kabe-don is a Japanese word that has no real English equivalent. It is made up of the word kabe which means wall in Japanese, and don, which is supposed to be the sound when you slap against a wall. It can be used in a few different ways.

It can refer to the act of slapping the wall loudly to notify a noisy neighbor to quiet down. The most popular usage, however, is the cliched romantic act of a man using their arm against a wall to block their love interest from leaving, and creating an intimate moment. In fact, this slang is so popular that it was selected as one of the top ten words in U-CAN’s 2014 popular new words list.

An interesting twist on the word Kabe-don is Gyaku-kabe-don. Gyaku in Japanese means reverse. In other words, Reverse kabe-don. Reverse kabe-don refers to when a woman pins a man to the wall with their arms.

Let’s remember the following useful sentences before going to Japan!

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●Kono mae no pa-ti de moriagattara, otonari-san ni kabedon saremashitayo.
(この前のパーティで盛り上がったら、お隣さんに壁ドンされましたよ。)
> When the party started to pick up last time, the neighbor banged on the wall wanting us to quiet down.

●Suki na hito ni kabedon saretara dokidoki shimasune.
(好きな人に壁ドンされたらドキドキしますね。)
> Wouldn’t your heart race if you were Kabe-doned by someone you liked?

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Now all that’s left is to go out there and try using them in Japan!

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Haiyu (俳優) Fun! Japan Words vol.155