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.
Otaku
22 terms
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
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
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
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
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
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
