(This is sort of a compilation of other fan-based glossaries, including those at , , and , with some additions and edits.)

 aa (Ah) yes

ai/ai shiteru love / I love you; this is one of the many ways to say "I love you" in Japanese. The term ai denotes a very passionate love, often physical in nature. Although it is very common among fanfic authors to use this term, in anime it's not used that much. Also, from what I understand, there’s no real way to translate it into English. It’s supposed to mean something like ‘I love you now, and will keep loving you forever.’

Anata You (Familiar) Often used in songs

angst anxiety, heartbreak, agony; usually used when describing what characters may go through in fanfics

 

anime in general, animation that is created in Japan; also refers to the overall Japanese animation industry and related companies (equivalent to the older and less-used term, japanimation)

Ano Say, well, er

Arigato thank you

art book a book of pictures from an anime or manga series; some are "official", from the series creators, others are done by doujinshi artists

Asahi Morning sun

Ashita Tomorrow

Baka Fool, idiot

biseinen beautiful young adult; in anime refers to a very pretty or handsome young man, usually over the age of 17-18 but no older than mid-twenties; e.g., 15-year-old Duo is a bishounen, but 19-year-old Zechs is a biseinen.

bishounen pretty boy; usually refers to an animated male character whose features may be somewhat feminine or androgynous, usually includes large eyes, long eyelashes, and may includes long hair or hair that sweeps over the eyes; n, derogatory(Japanese): in Japan, bishounen is sometimes used in a derogatory fashion to refer to boys or young men who are overly-feminine in looks or behavior.

bubbles when bubbles (usually pastel in color) appear in back of, beside, and over characters in a scene, it means that someone is experiencing one of the following emotions: love, ecstasy, infatuation, romantic fantasy

Cancer One of two water-based mobile suits seen in Shin Kidousenki Gundamwing; they have the ability to fight underwater and are used somewhat like nuclear submarines, but for one person.

Ch’ Expletive (Vulgar)

Chikusho Damn it (you, him, her)! Beast!

-Chan ‘Duo-chan’. Used for Chibis, kids, or among school-girls. Guys don’t use it unless they want somebody’s fist crammed down their throat

chara short for character (as in "anime character")

 

chibi kid in Japanese; also derogatory term for "short person"; in anime chibi refers to a particular style of drawing characters that makes them look very young and somewhat chubby

Chigau To differ from, i.e that’s not it

Choho Reckless, foolhardy

Chotto a little; just a moment (as in 'Chotto Matte' - 'Wait a minute')

crossover a meeting of two or more anime or manga, with characters interacting based on their personalities in their own series; usually refers to fanfics

Daijoubu Alright, OK, safe

Daijoubu desu ka? AH. DAIJOUBU. Are you Ok? Yes, I’m OK

Daijoubu ka, minna-san Are you alright, everyone?

Dare da  Who

Demo But

doujinshi broadly, refers to a class of manga, books, and artwork that are produced by people or groups other than the series creators. Almost all published yaoi work for anime is found in doujinshis.

EEto Er, let me see

Egao Smile, smiling face

facevault facial expression of shock/surprise seen in characters; involves the entire jaw dropping open several inches, in a manner that is completely impossible anatomically

 

falling over just what it says; done by characters to express shock, surprise (pleasant or unpleasant), dismay, elation, severe embarrassment

 

fanart artwork created by fans of an anime or manga series; usually centers around images of a character (or characters interacting)

 

fandom the larger community of anime and manga, that includes fans from all over the world and the communities (often virtual) that they inhabit

 

fanfic (also known as a fic) a story involving characters and (sometimes) situations from anime or manga series; these may follow closely to the original series information or be in a completely alternate universe; other fics may include characters placed in other anime series (known as a crossover fic) or in common stories such as fairly tales;

 

fansub videotape of an anime series, made by fans of the series and subtitled by them

fluff just like it sounds, refers to fics that are sugary-sweet or have no real content/substantial plot

gaijin foreigner, someone who is not from Japan

 

ganbarou do your best!

 

ganbatte good luck! (but also more equivalent to 'doing your best')

 

glomp to come up to another person and throw yourself onto him/her in a massive bear hug, often putting your cheeks together and hanging on long enough to make the other person irritated

 

gomen I'm sorry, excuse me; it can be made more fervent by adding nasai (na sa´ee) at the end

Hai Yes

Hakumei Dusk, sunset, faint light

hammerspace a mythical place from which female anime characters pull large mallets (and sometimes other weapons) when they become angry

Hanase Let go

het Refers to a fanfic with heterosexual pairings

HFO Hilde Finds Out about Duo & someone (normally Heero)

Hidoi Cruel, terrible

Higashi East

Higure Dusk, sunset, twilight

honto ni Really? Usually heard in anime as a question

 

IC  in character; the state where a character is written, drawn, role-played in a manner that is consistent with his/her behavior in a series

Iie (Iya) No

Irasshaimase Welcome

ITAI  painful; used as an interjection that is roughly equivalent to "ouch!"; I’m pretty sure it also means ‘corpse’ Eew.

Itooshii Lovely, beloved, dear child

Itsuka Some day, later on, in the future

Itsumo Always

Iya da, dame, yamete, hanase No, no, stop, let me go

Ja matta ne (Like ‘later’ or ‘bye’)

ja ne (also "ja") see ya; casual way of saying goodbye

JUNE Pronounced "ju-neh". This is the correct term to use for a serious m/m story, be it professional or amateur, and usually refers to original character creations. Long-standing m/m stories with a solid base are considered june. Quickie fics and PWP's are not.

Kagayaku To shine

Kanryou Completed (aka ninmu kanryou, mission compl.)

Karasu Raven or Crow

kawaii cute, adorable

Kaze Wind

kisama you (impolite form); generally translated as ‘bastard’

Kitsune Fox

Kitto Surely

koi shiteru I love you; the use of koi denotes an affectionate, rather than passionate, bond is being denoted.

 

koibito boyfriend or girlfriend; koi is a shortened form used a lot by certain fanfic authors, *but*, according to my dictionary it does mean ‘love,’ not lover/boyfriend/girlfriend. It also means fish, or a type of carp -_- I'll BE ASKING MY Japanese TEACHER ABOUT THIS WHEN I WORK UP THE NERVE TO SAY 'so, WHAT SHOULD I CALL MY LOVER?'

Kokoro Heart

Kore kara zutto... itsumademo For always and forever

Korosu To kill

kudasai please (used as a sentence ending when the speaker is asking another person to do something)

 

kumi group; team; also, the group of students who are in the same classroom in school; antiquated, 1) a group of samurai who fight for one lord; thread, 2) braid

-Kun Honorific used for boys, in school etc. ‘Duo-kun’

Kuso (K’so) Expletive (vulgar); 'Shit!'

lemon story scenes that involve graphic descriptions of sex; lemon differs from lime in its highly detailed and graphic descriptions of genitalia and sensitive body parts as well as specific sexual acts

Leo in Gundam Wing, a type of mobile suit used in combat by the Federation and OZ. This is a land-based suit that looks somewhat like a gundam, but is vastly inferior to them in fighting ability, strength, and armored ability.

 

leopard tail/ears parts that appear on anime characters, usually when they are slightly SD, to signify that the character is feeling mischievous or sexually frisky

 

lime story scenes that involve strong inferences about sexual behavior; lime differs from lemon in its avoidance of graphic descriptions of genitalia and sensitive body parts and specific sexual acts

 

magical girl an ordinary female elementary/junior high/high (pick one) school student who is usually reluctantly recruited by either alien beings or a supernatural agent to fight evil and help restore peace, justice, and /or happiness to the world;

 

magical girl pose the body position a magical girl assumes at the end of her incantation; all magical girls have poses.

 

manga Japanese comic books; manga come in various genres from simple children's stories to romantic shojo dramas or comedies to shounen war epics and sexually explicit stories

Masaka Never

Matte Wait

mecha/mech broadly, refers to anything having to do with technology or machinery; specifically refers to any machine used by a character to fight (usually in war);

 

miko a Shinto priestess who acts as an assistant to a priest within a particular god's shrine; in anime refers to a girl or woman who is passionately devoted to a particular character

 

mina/mina-san everyone, everybody; can be made more polite by adding san to the ending;

 

mobile suit in the Gundam universe, a large machine that a pilot sits in and directs to fight in battle; mobile suits often resemble robots, but are almost always controlled by a human pilot who "wears" the suit and directs its movements and fighting;

Namida Tear

Nanase Be sensible

Nanda What is it

Nani What

Ne Add-on that demands agreement. Baka ne? Gomen ne?

Neko Cat

nimru kanryou "mission complete"

 

nimru ryoukai "mission acknoledged"

No Possessive particle

nosebleed occurs to characters in anime and manga when they have lustful thoughts, usually to quite humorous effect

O At, is, on

OC original character; also may include a "Mary Sue" element, which is generally author insertion.

Ohayo Good morning

Oi! "Hey!"

Ojousan Daughter (honorific); sometimes implies that the girl is sppoiled

Okaeri Welcome home

Omae o korosu "I'm going to kill you." In Gundam Wing, Heero's second favorite line and now famous reply to most people who get in his way or who annoy him.

Omae wa ore no mono da You belong to me

Omae You

onna woman; usually used quite derogatorily by Wufei towards any woman he has to fight and/or work with

OC Original Character (The author inserts a character of his or her own creating)

OOC abbreviation for "out of character"; refers to behavior that is inconsistent with the personality of a character as established by the anime he/she is from; often used when describing fanfics.

ORANGE I think this comes after lime, but before lemon. I could be wrong, and it comes before both. I dunno. It's not used often, so it probably won't come up.

otaku you; in Japan used as a derogatory term for obsessive anime fans who are so far gone that they no longer have any social skills and may even be neglecting personal hygiene in order to get more of their addiction; in U.S. fandom, used less derogatorily to refer to a passionate anime/manga fan who has a great deal of knowledge about anime and who spends most of his/her time studying/acquiring/using/admiring anime/manga and its related merchandise.

 

OVA /OAV acronym for Original Video Action, refers to anime (often for an established series) that is released directly to video as opposed to being a television series or a cinematic release; although OAVs exist in the U.S., they tend to be for lower-status titles that are not equated with motion picture or television releases. In Japan, however, OAVs are often better than the television series they are based on.

Pisces One of two water-based moblie suits seen in Shin Kidousenki Gundamwing; they have the ability to fight underwater and are used somewhat like nuclear submarines, but for one person.

 

pocky A favorite Japanese snack food that are basically thin cracker sticks that have been dipped in chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and other flavors.

 

PWP acronym for "Plot? What Plot?"; refers to fanfics that have no storyline (or just a meager one); often used in reference to fics in which the primary reason for the fic is to describe sexual encounters between the characters

RFO Relena Finds Out about Heero & someone (normally Duo)

Ryoukai Acknowleged, accepted, OK

-Sama Ultra-honorific.

-San Honorific. Respectful, often used for people older than 'kun'.

sap just like it sounds

SD/super-deformed a particular drawing style that makes a character look very young and somewhat chubby; the use of SD within anime and manga is an art form in and of itself, as it seems to be a way to express strong emotions in a character. Usually a character is drawn in SD when he/she is very angry/sad/embarrassed/frisky/silly.

 

seiyuu voice actor

Senshi Soldier

Shimatta Damn

Shota-con :: In a general sense, shota-con stories center around the relationship between a grown man and a prepubescent boy.

shoujo literally, girl; shojo anime is created explicitly for young girls in Japan. There are many sub-genres of shojo - romantic comedy, romantic tragedy, romantic epics.

 

shounen literally, boy; shonen anime is created explicitly for young boys in Japan. Shonen stories usually revolve around warfare, crime, science fiction (usually with warfare) or quests (often with warfare).

 

shounen-ai boy-love; refers to anime or manga stories that portray a romantic relationship between two boys, who are usually bishounen.

sparkles little sparkles serve two basic functions in anime: in general, sparkles around a character's face are usually tears. In shoujo anime, sparkles around a character and all over a scene represent either beauty (or that someone looking at the character finds him/her beautiful) or happiness (often romantic in nature.)

songfic a fic set to a song, so to speak

squick Refers to something, usually sexual in nature, that may be considered gross to the reader (i.e. using cheese wiz as lube, or eating cum-filled cookies ^_^)

sweatdrop just what it says; a big huge drop of sweat appears on an anime character's head (or in that vicinity) when he/she experiences dismay, embarrassment (on someone else's behalf, usually), or disbelief

Sugoi Amazing, wonderful

Suki da ‘I care about you’ OR ‘love you’

Sumimasen Sorry, excuse me

Tabidatsu Depart, departure

Tadaima Here I am, I’m home

TWT Timeline? What Timeline? (A fic that doesn't fit into the GW timeline at all (including the series and Endless Waltz))

Uruhu Wolf (I've seen other words for Wolf BTW)

Uso ‘Impossible, I can't believe it, never, it can't be.'

vidfic normally a songfic, too, focuses on action

Yamero Stop (rougher, less..er..civilized?)

Yamete Stop (more polite, kinda uke-ish)

yaoi acronym: YAma nashi, Ochi nashi, Imi nashi – No peak, No point, No meaning

Yaro Rascal, i.e Bakayaro

Yo Emphatic particle. Greeting also

yokatta if you like

Yoshi (yosh) Good, all right

yoshi Good!; Yes!; Let's do it!;

Yume Dream

yuri girl/girl relationship, the physical equivalent of shoujo ai

Zutto Forever

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