waifu
English
Etymology
From Japanese ワイフ (waifu), itself from English wife; popularized by 4chan. Doublet of wife. Believed to have first appeared in the anime Azumanga Daioh.
Pronunciation
Noun
waifu (plural waifu or waifus)
- (fandom slang, Internet slang) A fictional female character from non-live-action visual media (typically an anime, manga, or video game) to whom one is romantically attracted and/or whom one considers their significant other.
- 2009 December 31, Dave Watson, “Re: K-ON! 2nd season announced”, in rec.arts.anime.misc, Usenet[2]:
- Seriously, it was fun, but here's hoping that they lay off some of the bits that got old real quick, like Mio getting scared easily. I would not like to have someone that timid as "mai waifu" (as if I'd marry a bloody high school girl anyway). Makes me wonder what that says about the otaku who worship her.
- 2012, Dani Cavallaro, Kyoto Animation: A Critical Study and Filmography, McFarland & Company (2012), →ISBN, page 126:
- Bradley Meek's portrayal of Lucky☆Star's protagonist is particularly worthy of notice in assessing the anime's take on the art-play dyad: “Konata Izumi is a high school otaku hardcore enough to know trivia about seventies giant robot and tokusatsu shows,” the critic proposes, “but not hardcore enough to own a bodypillow of her waifu [a 2D significant other]. […]
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:waifu.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Coordinate terms
Related terms
- mai (“my”)
Translations
a fictional character that one is attracted to
Japanese
Romanization
waifu