Interest
Master Japanese Otaku Lingo With New 1,600-Word Dictionary
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
Whether you're a newbie or a veteran otaku, it's not easy to keep up with the otaku world's ever-changing language. Well, not anymore! Japanese publishing company Sanseido will release an otaku dictionary titled Otaku Yōgo Jiten Dai Genkai (Otaku Terms Dictionary: The Great Limit) on November 21.
The 288-page dictionary has about 1,600 otaku terms covering everything from anime, manga, and Pokémon, to 2.5 dimension, BL, and even the world of Japanese and K-Pop idols. 12 students from Nagoya Junior College's Department of Contemporary Liberal Arts collected the otaku terms.
On the dictionary's sample page below, it defines the meaning of ATM. In the English language, the Automated Teller Machine is just that... a machine where we get money from. But in otaku lingo, ATM is someone who is willing to pay for or use their money to support their favorite (e.g. idol). Keep that in mind when discussing ATM in Japan.
The otaku dictionary will retail at 1,540 yen (about US$10.30), and an e-book version will be available on November 22.
Sources: Sanseido's website, Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web
