Otaku Terms Dictionary
From anime lingo and internet slang to modern Japanese expressions. Explore the words you'll encounter in otaku culture and everyday Japan.
All Terms
40 terms
Chunibyo
厨二病(ちゅうにびょう)
Chunibyo (Chūnibyō / 厨二病) is Japanese slang for the cringeworthy, self-important phase that many teenagers go through around 8th grade. The name literally means “middle school second-year syndrome.” The 病 (byō, “disease”) part is tongue-i
Comiket
コミケ(こみけ)
Comiket (コミケ) is the common name for the doujinshi convention "Comic Market." Doujinshi are self-published books by fans and individual creators. Held at Tokyo Big Sight in the Ariake district of Tokyo, it takes place twice a year, in mid-A
Coupling
カップリング(かっぷりんぐ)
Coupling (カップリング, kappuringu) is a word used in doujin and fan culture for the pairing of two characters in a romantic relationship. It means roughly what English-speaking fans call shipping. It applies to BL, which depicts romance between
Haken Anime
覇権アニメ(はけんあにめ)
Haken anime is a term used by anime fans for the title that drew the most popularity and buzz among the shows airing in the same season. Anime is organized on a seasonal cours system, with a new lineup of series starting every three months
Heisei Retro
平成レトロ(へいせいれとろ)
Heisei retro (平成レトロ) is a trend of looking back fondly on the objects and design of the Heisei era and deliberately working them into daily life today. Heisei ran from 1989 to 2019, a little over thirty years. Heisei retro mostly covers the
Ikemen
イケメン(イケメン)
Ikemen (イケメン) is a word for a man whose face or overall appearance is attractive. The Digital Daijisen, a Japanese dictionary, defines it as "a man whose face and figure are both beautiful; a cool-looking man." It is used as a noun for a pe
Isekai
異世界(いせかい)
Isekai (異世界) literally means a world apart from the one we live in. In anime and light novels, it most often refers to a genre in which someone from the real world is sent to a fantasy world and has to build a life there. The setting is us
Kaigai Niki
海外ニキ(かいがいにき)
An internet slang term short for "kaigai no aniki" (overseas bros), used to affectionately refer to foreign users on the Japanese internet. Primarily used on Niconico, YouTube streams, and social media to refer to foreign men. It is also u
Kikokushijo
帰国子女(きこくしじょ)
Kikokushijo (帰国子女) refers to Japanese children who lived abroad, typically due to a parent's overseas work assignment, and later returned to Japan. Kikoku (帰国) means "returning to one's home country," while shijo (子女) combines shi (子, "son
Kusa
草(くさ)
A Japanese internet slang expression meaning laughter. Used to express amusement or that something is funny, much like "lol" in English. It can appear on its own at the end of a sentence, or in verb forms such as "kusa haeru" (grass is grow
Kusoge
クソゲー(くそげー)
Kusoge (クソゲー) is slang for labeling a game as low in quality and no fun to play. The word shortens kuso na gēmu, meaning a crappy game, and is also written with the kanji 糞. It can also refer to the panned title itself. It is not only a pu
Maid Cafe
メイドカフェ(めいどかふぇ)
A maid cafe (メイドカフェ) is a cafe where the staff wear maid uniforms and greet customers as goshujin-sama (Master) and ojō-sama (My Lady). The staff play the role of maids serving in a mansion, while customers take on the role of the master of
Meroi
メロい(めろい)
Meroi (メロい) is a Japanese adjective describing someone or something so irresistibly attractive that it makes you completely smitten, weak in the knees. It is most commonly used when a fan’s oshi (favorite idol, performer, character, etc.) d
Miriota
ミリオタ(みりおた)
Miriota is short for "military otaku", referring to someone with a deep interest in and extensive knowledge of military subjects. Also known in Japanese as gunji otaku or gun-ota, the term is sometimes understood abroad simply as "military
Moe
萌え(もえ)
Moe is a slang term for the heightened rush of affection you feel when you are strongly drawn to a character from manga, anime, or games. It gets aimed at real people too, such as idols. There is no fixed definition; the word encompasses th
Narou Kei
なろう系(なろうけい)
A collective term for works originating from the web novel platform "Shousetsuka ni Narou" (Let's Become a Novelist), or more broadly, works that share the formulaic plot structures and settings commonly found there. These works typically
Nekomimi
猫耳(ねこみみ)
Nekomimi (猫耳) refers to the cat ears on the head of a character in human form in anime, manga, and games. Characters with cat ears are called nekomimi chara (猫耳キャラ), or cat-ear characters, and the word nekomimi alone is sometimes used as a
Niwaka
にわか(にわか)
Niwaka (にわか) is a word for someone who recently got into a particular hobby or field, or who has only a temporary interest in it. In otaku culture especially, it often refers to new fans with shallow knowledge or superficial fandom, and alm
Nui
ぬい(ぬい)
Nui is short for nuigurumi (a plush toy or stuffed animal). It usually refers to plushies modeled after characters from anime, games, or idol groups. The term spread through otaku culture and social media, and it isn't limited to your own o
Nui-katsu
ぬい活(ぬいかつ)
Nui-katsu refers to activities centered on plush toys. It covers everything you might do with a favorite plush or a plush of your oshi (nui), from collecting them and taking them out with you to photographing them and dressing them up. Peo
Okini
オキニ(おきに)
"Okini" (オキニ/お気に) is an abbreviation of "okiniiri" (お気に入り), referring to a person, thing, or method that someone particularly likes and shows favoritism toward. The closest English equivalent is "fav" (favorite). Okini can be used in a wid
Oshi
推し(おし)
Oshi refers to the person or character you support and cheer for the most. It could be a specific member of an idol group, an anime or manga character, an actor, a voice actor, an athlete, there are no limits on who or what can be your os
Oshikatsu
推し活(おしかつ)
Oshikatsu (推し活) is a general term for activities in which you spend time and money supporting your oshi (推し). The target can be an idol, an artist, an anime or game character, an athlete, and more. Buying merch, following streams and live s
Otaku
オタク(おたく)
Otaku (オタク) is a fan with deep passion for Japanese pop culture such as anime and manga. In the English-speaking world, the word has taken root with this meaning but is widely used as a positive way to describe someone with deep knowledge o
Reisho
冷笑(れいしょう)
Reishō (冷笑), also romanized as Reisho, means laughing at someone with contempt or derision. It is an old word of Chinese origin, used in phrases such as reishō o ukaberu ("to wear a contemptuous smile"). Online, it usually refers to the att
Riako
リアコ(りあこ)
Riako is short for "riaru ni koi shiteru" (lit. really in love). It refers to having genuine romantic feelings for someone you can normally only have a fan relationship with, such as idols, actors, voice actors, or anime characters, or to s
Seichi Junrei
聖地巡礼(せいちじゅんれい)
In otaku culture, seichi junrei (聖地巡礼) refers to the act of fans visiting real-world locations that served as settings or references for anime, manga, games, and other works. It essentially means making a pilgrimage to places considered "sa
Senpai
先輩(せんぱい)
Senpai (先輩) is a word for someone who joined the same school, workplace, or similar group before you. Etymologically, it means "a person born earlier," and its senses also include someone above you in age, experience, or rank, or in a field
Sukipi
好きピ(すきぴ)
Sukipi (好きピ) is a slang term meaning "the person you like". It primarily refers to a romantic partner or someone you have a crush on. It is rarely used as a direct term of address. Instead, it comes up in conversations with friends or soci
Torima
とりま(とりま)
Torima is a Japanese slang abbreviation of "toriaezu, maa" (roughly, "for now"), used as a casual opener before suggesting an immediate action while setting the details aside. It works much like "toriaezu" and sits at the beginning of a se
Toutoi
尊い(とうとい)
Toutoi is a word otaku and fans use when someone they adore is so wonderful that they almost want to press their palms together in worship. Who it points to varies widely, from a character in an anime or manga, to the bond between two of th
Tsundere
ツンデレ(つんでれ)
Tsundere (ツンデレ) describes a person (or personality type) who acts cold and prickly on the surface but turns sweet and affectionate toward a specific person or in certain situations. The word is a blend of two Japanese mimetic words: tsuntsu
Yabai
やばい(やばい)
"Yabai" (やばい) is an adjective originally used to describe a sense of danger approaching or an inconvenient situation. Its original usage covers scenes where something feels risky or bad, as in phrases like "yabai, I might get caught" or "ya
Yume
夢(ゆめ)
In otaku contexts, yume ("dream") is an umbrella term for a genre of fan works that depict a relationship between a character from an anime, manga, or game and either the reader themselves or an original character the reader has in mind. Fo
Yumejoshi
夢女子(ゆめじょし)
Yumejoshi are female fans who enjoy imagining a relationship between a character from an anime, manga, or game and themselves or a stand-in for themselves. The creative genre that turns this kind of imagining into fiction and illustration i
