Descriptive terms

• Akiba-kei Similar to ota-kei, refers to anime fans who gather around Akihabara (see geography page). See Wikipedia.

• Bishoujo Beautiful girl. See Wikipedia.

• Bishounen Beautiful boy. The term is often used to refer to male characters in anime or manga who look feminine. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Ecchi Japanese way of pronouncing the letter "H," it is often used to refer to a mild form of hentai, or as a mildly derogatory term for something or someone that is perverse (usually applied to a male). See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Hentai Japanese term for sexually explicit or perverse anime or manga; or a derogatory term for someone or something that is sexually perverse. It's a stronger term than ecchi. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Kanojo Girlfriend. (Romantic, not just a girl who's a friend.)

• Kare Boyfriend. (Romantic, not just a boy who's a friend; though actually, does anyone in the world ever use "boyfriend" in a non-romantic sense?)

• Kogal See culture page.

• Meganekko Glasses-wearing girl (usually a pretty girl). Often seen in anime and manga. See Ah! Megane-sama: Rob's Anime Meganekko Gallery, Wikipedia, or Everything2.

• Nakama Comrade, colleague, circle of friends. See Everything2.

• Nakayoshi Close friend.

• Ota-kei Otaku-type. A less intense term for otaku.

• Otaku In Japan, a greatly insulting term for a person with an all-consuming obsession. Elsewhere, a term some hard-core anime fans may apply to themselves, though I'm sure some would eschew this, not wanting to corrupt the word's proper, negative meaning. See inAnime, Wikipedia, or Everything2.

• Otome Literally, "maiden," but also a word some female fans of anime and manga call themselves, as opposed to otaku.

• Taremekko A girl with drooping eyes (see tareme on the general words & phrases page). Often seen in anime and manga.

• Tomodachi Friend.

• Tsunderekko A girl with a tsundere personality (see anime page).

• Imouto Younger sister.
• Itoko Cousin.
• Kanai Wife.
• Kyoudai Siblings.
• Musuko Son.
• Musume Daughter.
• Oba Aunt.
• Obaasan Grandmother.
• Oji Uncle.
• Ojiisan Grandfather.
• Okaasan Mother.
• Oneesan Older sister.
• Oniisan Older brother.
• Otouto Younger brother.
• Otousan Father.
• Shujin Husband.

• Daikan Prefectural governor in Japan's Edo period (see history page).

• Daimyo Feudal lords to whom samurai owed their allegiance. It was usually from the daimyo class that shogun arose. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Geisha Japanese hostesses who entertain in various ways, including singing, dancing, tea ceremonies (see history & culture page), etc. See About.com, Wikipedia, or Everything2.

• Gravure idoru (See also idoru.) Japanese models who pose in bikinis or other provocative clothing. See Wikipedia.

• Hime Princess.

• Idoru Idol. Media personalities, usually girls in their teens and early 20s, who are very cute. May sing, act, and/or model. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Isha Medical doctor.

• Kanushi Shinto shrine priest.

• Kunoichi Female ninja. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Manga-ka Cartoonist, manga artist. (See anime & manga page.) See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Miko Shinto shrine maiden. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Ninja A person who is good at concealment, a spy. Also called shinobi. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Onmyoji Practitioner of onmyodo (see philosophy page).

• Rikishi Literally "strong man," this usually refers to sumo wrestlers (see martial arts page). There are various ranks, the highest two being Ozeki and Yokozuna. See Wikipedia.

• Ronin In Feudal Japan, a masterless samurai who has become a thief or mercenary, and therefore a burden to society. In modern Japan, a student who hasn't passed university entrance exams, and is therefore a burden to society. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Samurai A class of noble warriors which originated in the Heian Period (see history page), and lasted through several periods, ending after the Meiji Restoration. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Seiyuu Japanese term for voice actors. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Sensei Master, teacher. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Shinobi Spy, sneak thief. Another word for ninja. Shinobi is also the name of a series of video games which I've never played. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Shogun Originally a title for military commanders during the Heian period (see history page), this class eventually grew more powerful than the emperor. A series of shogunates held power from 1185 until the Meiji Restoration of imperial power in 1868. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Triads Chinese mafia/gangs. I think these are also called Tongs (or perhaps just collectively "the Tong"), but that may just be something that's related, but not exactly the same. I'm not sure. Anyway, see Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Tsujigiri A samurai who would kill people to test a new sword, an act which, while feared, was considered acceptable. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Yakuza Japanese mafia. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Ainoko Derogatory term meaning person of mixed race. See also konketsu no hito.

• Ainu An indigenous Japanese people who have historically suffered discrimination. See Japan-Guide, The Ainu Museum, Suite101, Wikipedia, or Everything2.

• Gaijin is the informal form of the word gaikokujin, which means foreigner (non-Japanese). "Gaijin" may be used as a derogatory term (but not necessarily). See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Konketsu no hito Person of mixed race. I think this isn't derogatory, as Ainoko is, but I could be wrong.

• Issei Person born in Japan who has emigrated to another country. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Nihonjin Japanese person/people. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Nikkei Americans of Japanese descent. It may refer to descendants of emigrants from Japan, or even to people currently living in Japan who are of Japanese heritage, but who didn't originally live in Japan, themselves. Wikipedia.

• Nisei A person born in another country to first generation Japanese emigrants (issei) See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Edogawa Rampo (1894-1965) A famous Japanese author of detective fiction, influenced by such Western writers as Edgar Allan Poe (from whom he took this pen name) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the anime "Detective Conan" (aka "Case Closed"), Jimmy Kudo used the assumed name "Conan Edogawa," combining Doyle and Rampo's names. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Goemon Ishikawa (1558-1594) A famous Japanese thief. The character Goemon Ishikawa XIII from the anime "Lupin III" is supposedly a descendant of his. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Hayao Miyazaki (1941-?) One of the most famous creators of manga and anime, including "Spirited Away," "Kiki's Delivery Service," "Princess Mononoke," "Howl's Moving Castle," "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind," and more. He is also one of the cofounders of Studio Ghibli. See IMDb, Wikipedia, and Everything2.

• Hideaki Anno (1960-?) An anime director who's worked on various things, such as "Neon Genesis Evangelion." Also a co-founder of Studio Gainax. See official website (Japanese only), IMDb, and Wikipedia.

• Junko Mizuno (1973-?) A Japanese artist who draws comics in the kawaii noir style (see arts page). See her official website, Wikipedia, or Everything2.

• Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) A Japanese painter and ukiyo-e artist (see arts page), a sketchbook of some of his works known as Hokusai manga is considered the precedent of modern manga. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Mamoru Oshii (1951-?) Director of various anime, including "Urusei Yatsura" and "Ghost in the Shell." See official website (Japanese only), IMDb, Wikipedia, or Everything2.

• Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584-1645) One of the greatest swordsmen in history, he also wrote a book on strategy called the Go Rin No Sho (see martial arts page). See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Nobuyoshi Araki (1940-?) A well-known Japanese photographer of various subjects, often pornographic, and considered by some to be misogynistic. See his official website, Wikipedia, and Everything2.

• Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) Known as the "god of manga," he is one of Japan's most prolific creators of manga and anime, including the classic "Astro Boy." He is in large part responsible for the distinctive visual style of modern anime & manga. See Tezuka Osamu @World, IMDb, Wikipedia, and Everything2.

• Puffy AmiYumi or in Japan, simply "Puffy." A popular J-pop duo (Ami Onuki, 1973-? and Yumi Yoshimura, 1975-?) with several CDs, who have also performed theme songs for shows like "Teen Titans" as well as their own cartoon, "Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi." See their official website, Wikipedia, or Everything2.

• Satoshi Kon (1963-?) Director of anime films and series, including "Perfect Blue," "Paranoia Agent," "Millennium Actress," and "Paprika." See official website (Japanese only), IMDb, or Wikipedia.

• Sun Tzu An ancient Chinese general famous for having written "The Art of War," or Ping-fa (see history & culture page). See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Tokugawa A family of shogun rulers in Japan, starting with Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616). Also, the name of the period in which they ruled (also called the Edo period, see history page). See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Yoko Kanno (1964-?) Japanese composer who has created the music for many anime. See IMDb, The Yoko Kanno Project, and Wikipedia.

• Jin Man; person; people.

• Kodomo Child, or children. See Wikipedia.

• Minna All, everyone. As in "konnichiwa, minna!"

• Onna Woman.

• Otome Maiden; young girl.

• Seinen Young man.

• Shoujo Girl. Also can be used to refer to manga or anime targeted at girls. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• Shounen Boy. Also can be used to refer to manga or anime targeted at boys. See Wikipedia or Everything2.

• -chan A term of endearment added to the end of names, especially when addressing young girls. See Everything2.
• -dono Added to the name of a lord or lady, but rarely heard these days outside of anime. See Wikipedia.
• -kohai Someone junior to you, usually an underclassman at school. See Wikipedia or Everything2.
• -kun A term added to the end of names, most commonly with boys. See Everything2.
• -sama An address of greatest respect. See Everything2.
• -san A common address of respect. See Everything2.
• -senpai Someone senior to you, usually an upperclassman at school. See Wikipedia or Everything2.
• -sensei Added to the name of a teacher. (See higher this page under "professions/ societal roles.")
• -tai Indicates a team.