引きこもり[hikikomori]
If you have watched the anime, NHKにようこそ！[Welcome to NHK!], you must have heard of the term, 引きこもり[hikikomori]. NHK stands for 日本引きこもり協会[Nihon Hikikomori Kyoukai “Japan’s Association for Hikikomori”], not Japan’s commercial broadcasting, NHK, which stands for 日本放送協会[Nihon Housou Kyoukai]. Forgive me, but I do not know how English speakers say 引きこもり since I haven’t been able to find out the appropriate word. At any rate, 引きこもり means a person who stays indoors every single day even though they are not mentally impaired(some people are, though). Yes, the protagonist in this anime, Sato-kun is 引きこもり. He got expelled from university, and he doesn’t have a job…every day he stays inside his room, in such a secluded space.
There’s another similar term, ニート[niito “NEET”], which stands for Not in Education, Employment, or Training. The funny thing is that I haven’t heard this term in the anime because Sato-kun insists he is 引きこもり. Yes, 引きこもり has to keep staying inside whereas ニート can go out anytime, accroding to him. Actually, ニート is more common than 引きこもり since the press generally focuses on them. As I have said, 引きこもり means even mental people sometimes. Comparing to 引きこもり, ニート does not seem to mean mental people.
So I hereby introduce a few more terms those relate this kind of thing. First, it’s 廃人[haijin]. 廃[hai] means to scrap, abolish, or discard. 人[jin] means a person…so literally, 廃人 means a scrapped person. Speaking of 廃人, we Japanese say ネトゲ廃人[netoge haijin] to describe a person who is addicted to online games. ネトゲ is an abbreviation of ネットゲーム[nettogeimu “online game”]. I heard some people died somewhere in Hong Kong or Korea because they played too much with no sleep, no eating, nor drinking.
Speaking of online games, there’s オフ会[ofukai]. オフ[ofu] means off, and 会[kai] means an assembly. This means an assembly by online game players, bloggers, or online chat mates. Upon the same purpose or interests, such people get together in the real world. In other words, this assembly takes place when they’re NOT on. That’s why we say オフ会. I have seen this kind of thing at a pub. Several people were having a party…but the weird thing was that it seemed to be not lively. They looked so solemn! And they called each other by alias, not real names. It sounded like the characters’ names in Ragnarok or something like that. I bet they must have met for the first time. Besides, the title of episode 12 of Welcome to NHK! is オフ会にようこそ！[Welcome to ofukai!]. But you will be terrorized when you see the assembly…no no, I shouldn’t give you any spoilers in case you watch this anime.
One more thing, there’s a spin-off term of ニート; 社内ニート[shanai niito]. 社内[shanai] means inside a company. It means a person who doesn’t work at all in spite of being at company. Though they can get a salary! Is there this kind of person at your company?
マスオさん[masuo-san]
Well, サザエさん[Sazae-san] is, if nothing else, a long-running TV anime series though it’s not very popular among anime fans. Yes, this anime is for non-otaku folks as well as ちびまる子ちゃん[Chibimaruko-chan]. As it happens, these two anime are broadcasted in a row, from six to seven p.m. on Sunday, when most families would have dinner. Both of them are midiocre sitcom comedies if you ask me. Forgive me, but I do not like this kind of thing because it’s too good to be true.
Anyway get to the point, Sazae doubles up with her parents at her family home. So does her husband, マスオ[Masuo]. See what I mean? He lives with her whole family members; her parents and two younger siblings of hers. In other words, he is always surrounded by them at home…he has few private hours so badly. He can’t relax all the time even though he seems to be happy in the anime. I hate to tell you, but I don’t think their house is so enough to accomodate so many people, though.
So this term, マスオさん means a husband(or an engaged man) who lives with his wife’s family at her home. Know this term aims a satire at such a person. Yes, I think this is a slang, and even non-otaku folks know this because this anime is for such general people.
By the way, I know at least two マスオさんs who happen to be foreigners. One is English and the other is French. Both of them have a Japanese girlfriend. I have never heard any complaints or whining from the two guys about being マスオさん. For non-Japanese people, being マスオさん is not stressful?
ロリショタ[rorishota]
ロリコン[rorikon“Lolita complex“] means, as you know, to be sexually obssessed with immature girls. So what about the exact opposite of this? I mean, how do we Japanese say to be sexually obssessed with immature boys. It’s ショタコン[shotakon], which derives from 正太郎コンプレックス[Shoutarou complex]. Shoutarou shows up in the very old anime, 鉄人２８号[tetsujin nijuhachigou]. But why he?
When the editor of the magazine, ふぁんろーど[fan road] was asked how to say to be obssessed with immature boys, he cited Shoutarou whose shorts really suits him. So he made up this term, 正太郎コンプレックス, copying Lolita complex. ショタコン is an abbreviation of it. Such a bishounen is just called ショタ[shota].
If you look at any bishounen anime, you will definitely at least one ショタ boy. Okay, I can think of Marcel(Angelique, see above image) and Shimon Nagareyama(Harukanaru toki no nakade, see above image), etc. But hey, they are dangeously like bishoujo. Not only them, but recent ショタ boys seem to be depicted like an adorable girl. So we made up this term, ロリショタ[rorishota]. It’s easy to guess, isn’t it? Yes, it’s a mixture of ロリコン and ショタコン.
Ah, nowadays ショタ boys are becoming ロリショタ! Then could we see Shinji(Evangelion) becoming ロリショタ? Oh, never mind.
干物女[himono onna]
Actually, I learned this term this morning. On the way to my company, I saw an advertisement of above shoujo manga, ホタルノヒカリ[hotaru no hikari “Lights of Fireflies“] on the train. This manga is currently ongoing and a live-action TV drama series of this has started. A 27-year-old working woman, Hotaru Amemiya is always respected by everybody else because of her great performance. But meanwhile, she always goofs around whenever she is off. And of course, she doesn’t have a boyfriend, so that she doesn’t have to care her looking expect her working hours. Just like her, a woman who has stopped loving anyone in her twenties…is 干物女[himono onna]. 干物[himono] means a dried fish, and 女[onna] means a woman. So in short, 干物女 means a dried woman literally. Oh dear!
If this comic got so famous, this term would be also common, I guess. And know this term does not include any definitions of otaku. So 干物女 is not otaku, nor even 腐女子[fujoshi].
The classification for 腐女子[fujoshi]
Needless to say, 腐女子[fujoshi] means a BL(Boys’ Love) fangirl though some people think it means a female otaku. So some female otaku might not like to be called 腐女子 unless they like BL. Anyway, there are generally some classification for 腐女子 depending upon the age.
In general, it is said that 腐女子 vaguely means from a schoolgirl to a late twenties. If she is married, she would be 既腐人[kifujin]. It puns upon 貴婦人[kifujin“noble lady“]. 既[ki] means already done, so here, it means married. We Japanese say 既婚[kikon] to describe a married person. So…既腐人 means a married 腐女子.
If she is over 30 years old, she could be 汚超腐人[ochoufujin]. 汚[o] means dirty, 超[chou] is super-…oh no, forgive me! But it also puns upon お蝶夫人[ochoufujin] who shows up in the very old anime, エースをねらえ！[Ace wo nerae!] She is well-bred, and her real name is Reika Ryuuzaki(see above image). But know this term is very rare, and I said if she is over 30…however, it’s not sure. We yet to synchronize the general definition. Speaking of rare, I hereby introduce one more term, 麻婆豆腐[mápó dòufu]. This is actually Chinese food; mincemeat and 豆腐[tofu”bean curd”] with hot sauce…something like that(see below image). As I have said, this term is very rare, so I have no idea how old 腐女子 could be entitled to be 麻婆豆腐. But I guess this might mean over late fifties because second kanji 婆[ba] means an old woman.
I yet to wait for more precise definitions coming out. I have done my best to investigate , but I have not been able to figure it out. orz
百合ップル[yurippuru]
I think this term is still new though I could guess the meaning straightaway when I heard of it for the first time. Well, if you happen to like 同人誌[doujinshi“fan-made comic“], you might know the term, 百合[yuri]. It simply means a lily, but also means lesbian. Incidentally, 薔薇[bara“rose“] means homosexual. Yes, 百合 is an exact opposite of BL. So that’s to say, it’s Girls’ Love. This kind of thing has been remarkable because of the famous novel series, マリア様が見てる[maria-sama ga miteru] though it’s less profitable than BL. ップル actually means カップル[kappuru“pair“]. So this term is an abbreviation of 百合カップル though only カ is omitted. 百合ップル is then a female and female pair from a certain anime or manga. Speaking of 百合ップル, I can think of Haruhi/Mikuru(The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi) and Rei Ayanami/Souryu Asuka Rangley (Evangelion), and so on.
Besides, there’s a gay magazine, 薔薇族[barazoku] in Japan. 族[zoku] means a tribe, a group, or folks. So that’s why the term, 薔薇 is generally accepted to have a meaning of homosexual though there’s no definition of this in your dictionary. Also, the editor of 薔薇族 made up this term, 百合 when he was asked how to say lesbians at the interview. It was no point, but it has settled somehow…
ドエス、ドエム[doesu, doemu]
I think these two terms are not so old yet, but surely we have used them without the first letter, ド[do]. At any rate, エス[esu] is actually S, and エム[emu] is M. So…caught on, haven’t you? Yes, S stands for sadist and M stands for masochist. For some reason, it’s getting common to put ド ahead of each. I’m not sure why, though. Well, ド is used to emphasizes how excessive it is. Mostly, it is written in katakana, but in kanji, it should be 度. Having said that, there are few adjectives to function with ド. I can think of アホ[aho”stupid“], へたくそ[hetakuso”not good at doing something, or merely bad“], and so on.
These two terms are really common anywhere, not only in anime but also in the real world. People should be either ドエス or ドエム…Is there a middle point? If one is such a bully, and the other must be bullied by him/her. So let’s see some anime through this glass; speaking of ドエス characters, I can think of Haruhi Suzumiya(The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi), Louise(Zero’s Familiar), Souryu Asuka Rangley(Evangelion). Sorry, I have mentioned those girls as ツンデレ[tsundere] characters. But wait, what about the other pair? Kyon seems to be relactant, but surely follows Haruhi, doesn’t he? However he whines, no matter what happens, he has to willy-nilly help her. Eventually, Kyon himself likes to do that. It’s not for the world, nor because Yuki Nagato told him to watch over her. So I guess Kyon must be ドエム. Forgive me, but otherwise he doesn’t follow Haruhi, right?
Also, what about Saito in Zero’s Familiar? Just because he was summoned by Louise as her familiar, Saito has to follow her. In the first place, yes. But as they get to know each other, Saito seems to enjoy himself even though he gets physically punished by her. So Saito must be ドエム, too.
After all, here’s a rule; if one of the pair is ドエス, the other should be ドエム. But what if both of them are ドエス or ドエム? How is the chemistry?
電波系[dempakei]
For better or worse, this term is getting more stronger then ever, even not only in anime industry, but the real world. So 電波[dempa] means an electric wave. However in the last few years, this term got another meaning though it’s not admissible in court. To get to the point, 電波 means confidential information or something should NOT come to light in public. 系[kei] means a type of person. So 電波系 means a person who tells something confidential in a public place. Nobody knows he/she does it on purpose or not because such a 電波系 does not mostly seem to read the atmosphere. So usually, 電波系 is not liked by everybody else, especially in the real world. Yes, such a 電波系 seems to be isolated or have few friends. Poor thing is the person never knows he/she is actually a 電波系 because no one tells him/her the truth…I have seen this kind of person through some anime, and every one of them is either a bookworm or such an eccentric person. Okay, I can think of Yuki Nagato(The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi), Tabitha(Zero’s Familiar), or Rei Ayanami(Evangelion) now…anyone else?
One more thing, this term is newer than 電波系; it’s 地雷[jirai]. 地雷 means a (land) mine, doesn’t it? Mines are buried under the ground, so we can’t see where they are. This means a thing which should NOT be mentioned in public. When you and your colleagues and boss are having a chat in a formal place, you accidentally say something shouldn’t be mentioned in front of them(for example, about someone’s upcoming resignation or something like that). We Japanese say this, 地雷を踏む[jirai wo fumu“step on a mine“].
So, be aware of 地雷. We never know where they are.
害人[gaijin]
I’m terribly sorry if this post offends you, but I do feel like using this word, 害人. Know this is a slang and includes exclusive discrimination so badly. 害[gai] means harm, damage, and 人[jin] means a person. Did you get it? 害人 naturally means a person who does harm to everybody else literally, so in short, it simply means a trouble or an asshole.
But actually, this pronounciation, gaijin is the same as 外人[gaijin] which means a foreigner. So the truth is, this 害人 means a foreigner who harasses everybody else. I am not sure whether this term was born in 2ch, but I often hear about such a 害人 on the net. Especially, a bulletin borad for language exchange because such 害人 people are looking for a date by using language exchange though there are numerous bulletin boards where they can find love romance or friendship. You know, I have tried to use such a bulletin board to find a language exchange partner since I am seriously learning English. However, almost all of the people who had contacted me, stopped mailing when they knew I am a guy. This makes me very upset. Why do they use language exchange for girlhunting? It really harasses serious learners. As I have said above, when things like this happen, I feel like using this slang, 害人. （｀^´）
ヒール系[hiiru kei]
The more evil a man is, the more attractive he is. I heard about something like this years ago. But what do you think? Yes, ヒール[hiiru] means heel in English; a man behaves badly toward other people. So old-fashioned way, though…系[kei] means a type of person here. So ヒール系 means a man who should be classified as a heel. I can think of Light Yagami(Death Note), Azuma Yunoki(Kiniro no Corda-primo passo-), or Keigo Atobe(Prince of Tennis) for this kind of person. Anyway, such a ヒール系 is becoming very hot in Japan now whereas they are so evil.
Having said that, in my opinion, Japanese ヒール is slightly different from English heel because, for example, Yagami Light is surely evil, but he behaves so nicely in front of others. So I think Japanese ヒール系 should mean men who are so evil inside whereas they are so nice in front of others.
Japanese words of anime fans, by anime fans, for anime fans 