Meaning and level of 死ねばいいのに


I have been hearing **死ねばいいのに** twice last week, including once in a context
where a bit of formality was required.

What does it mean? Is it as violent as it sounds to me?

I am not looking for a word-by-word translation. I think it has to be taken as
a whole expression, a kind of idiom.

EDIT: I just found this usage example on
[HATENA::KEYWORD](http://d.hatena.ne.jp/keyword/%BB%E0%A4%CD%A4%D0%A4%A4%A4%A4%A4%CE%A4%CB):

> あいつ「練習なんでドタキャンしたんだよ」って聞いたら、「彼女がデートしようって突然言うからさぁ」だって。ははは。まったくあいつらしいや。死ねばいいのに。




Context:

> Employee talking to the boss, jokingly.

As a joke, anything goes of course, but it does depend on many factors.

> Boss: We received another request from our client: ...  
>  Employee: またその話？死ねば良いのに。( -_-;;) _Mata sono hanashi? Shineba ii no ni._  
>  "Again? I wish they'd just go away/die! *groan*"

In this case I'd expect the two speakers to be on pretty good, colloquial
terms with each other and have a mutual distaste for the client. If that
wasn't the case, the employee should be reprimanded for insubordinate behavior
(in any culture). It probably shows that he's _really_ fed up with the client
and probably doesn't mean it too seriously, but it's still not good taste.

> Boss: Do you remember that guy? He's done it again! *lol*  
>  Employee: あはは、死ねば良いのに！（笑） _Ahaha, shineba ii no ni! *wara*_  
>  "Haha, he should simply die! *lol*"

If they were just bantering with each other I'd find it perfectly harmless,
despite the fact that the employee would creep me out to some degree. It's not
a nice thing to say in any language, but depending on the personality of the
speaker it may be a simple joke or seriously worrying.

In any case, saying it to someone's face is never nice.

> あいつ「練習なんでドタキャンしたんだよ」って聞いたら、「彼女がデートしようって突然言うからさぁ」だって。ははは。まったくあいつらしいや。死ねばいいのに。  
>  "So I asked him why he canceled the practice in the last minute, and he
> said because his girlfriend suddenly asked him out on a date. Hahaha, those
> guys are just so... I wish they'd simply die."

Apparently this was used in a skit and was likely the punchline (as far as
Japanese use punchlines). Here it's funny, exactly because it's rude and
unexpected. If the phrase is used in this manner channeling a comedian, it's
just good fun. The preceding まったくあいつらしいや and its delivery are quite important
to set up this joke.

It's pretty much a case of 空気読めば分かる (depends on the context). ;-)




Context:

> Employee talking to the boss, jokingly.

As a joke, anything goes of course, but it does depend on many factors.

> Boss: We received another request from our client: ...  
>  Employee: またその話？死ねば良いのに。( -_-;;) _Mata sono hanashi? Shineba ii no ni._  
>  "Again? I wish they'd just go away/die! *groan*"

In this case I'd expect the two speakers to be on pretty good, colloquial
terms with each other and have a mutual distaste for the client. If that
wasn't the case, the employee should be reprimanded for insubordinate behavior
(in any culture). It probably shows that he's _really_ fed up with the client
and probably doesn't mean it too seriously, but it's still not good taste.

> Boss: Do you remember that guy? He's done it again! *lol*  
>  Employee: あはは、死ねば良いのに！（笑） _Ahaha, shineba ii no ni! *wara*_  
>  "Haha, he should simply die! *lol*"

If they were just bantering with each other I'd find it perfectly harmless,
despite the fact that the employee would creep me out to some degree. It's not
a nice thing to say in any language, but depending on the personality of the
speaker it may be a simple joke or seriously worrying.

In any case, saying it to someone's face is never nice.

> あいつ「練習なんでドタキャンしたんだよ」って聞いたら、「彼女がデートしようって突然言うからさぁ」だって。ははは。まったくあいつらしいや。死ねばいいのに。  
>  "So I asked him why he canceled the practice in the last minute, and he
> said because his girlfriend suddenly asked him out on a date. Hahaha, those
> guys are just so... I wish they'd simply die."

Apparently this was used in a skit and was likely the punchline (as far as
Japanese use punchlines). Here it's funny, exactly because it's rude and
unexpected. If the phrase is used in this manner channeling a comedian, it's
just good fun. The preceding まったくあいつらしいや and its delivery are quite important
to set up this joke.

It's pretty much a case of 空気読めば分かる (depends on the context). ;-)

