男友達が彼女できたと聞いて
B1 Japanese listening practice · Standard Japanese · Curated for intermediate learners
What does “のろける” (norokeru) mean in Japanese?
のろける means to show off how happy your relationship is — gushing about your partner’s looks, personality, or how great things are going, usually to someone who didn’t ask. There’s no single English word for it; “to gush” or “to brag about your SO” gets close. In this clip, a friend visiting his newly-attached buddy shuts the conversation down fast with のろけんのやめて, “quit bragging about your girlfriend.”
The noun form is のろけ (noroke), as in のろけ話 (“gushing story/talk”) — the thing friends roll their eyes at but secretly want to hear anyway. It can even go passive-aggressive: some people のろける by complaining about how “annoying” their partner’s affection is, a backhanded brag English calls a humblebrag too.