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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。
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slang
Meaning and level of 死ねばいいのに
ばいいのに is used when you express regret that something isn't a certain way.
"Man, it'd be great if you died/gosh, why aren't you dead?/I wish I were dead"
(depending on the subject).
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2011-06-01T01:39:27.157
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That mean "~ better die", normally use to say by young guys, which they refer
to third person not in the same place with them when talking.
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2011-06-01T01:42:13.587
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死ねばいいのに is a pretty terrible thing to say to someone. It basically means, "I
wish you were dead." To break it down:

  * 死ねば - If (you) were dead
  * いい - (it would be) good
  * のに - wistful suffix

Formality doesn't really matter here - it's terrible even if you try to say
something like 死んで下さったら良いのに, just because of the meaning.
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2011-06-01T01:43:40.787
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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). ;-)
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2011-06-01T04:00:14.970
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To me, it sounds kind of like "Fuck that guy" or "Fuck those guys", as in, "I
really don't give a shit." I tend to translate things with a lot of four-
letter words though.
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2011-06-07T21:30:39.057
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死ねばいいのに literally means “I wish (someone) die” as already stated in other
answers, and it is a fairly strong phrase in this sense.

However, in many cases it is used as a joke where such a strong phrase is
absurd. According to the webpage in Hatena Keyword you linked to, this joke
was spread widely after used frequently by a comedy duo
[Downtown](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_%28owarai%29) in TV shows.

Of course, whether this phrase is an acceptable joke or not depends on the
context and people around you. Personally, I find it hard to understand that
anyone uses this phrase when a bit of formality is required, but different
people have different standards.
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