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meaning of otaku


Squall
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I think otaku means something to the likes of "comic reader" or fanboy. (more or less)

Just to cite an example of otaku being used as a description of a person... faye calling all hackers nerdy otaku's.

Im pretty sure it means a person who reads comics.
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[size=1]I hate this thread.

[quote]Originally posted by wrist cutter:

[b]Well, if anyone's interested, here's a bit more in-depth look-

There are two words in Japanese that are pronounced 'otaku' -

?I?^?N - geek, nerd, enthusiast
?ä?î - your house

Now the first one is pretty simple, it's the one we're all familiar with.

However the second one is a bit more difficult. As TN said, it's not used a lot... but it really depends on the situation. I wouldn't say to TN, "Hey, I'm going to otaku", or "I'm going to your house". But if I were talking to President Bush or someone, I would most certainly say "I'm going to otaku" because it would be rude if I said "anata no ie", as I would to TN. It's a formality thing.

As a standalone kanji, ?î is pronounced 'taku' and basically just means house. But it can combine with what is called the 'honorific ?ä' which is just as it says. It makes the word more formal, and usually signifies 'your'.

It's like the phrase, ?u?ä?a?¶?ú?¨?ß?Å?Æ???I?v. Saying just ?a?¶?ú without the ?ä is rather rude since you're celebrating someone else's birthday. Even if it is a friend, it'd be kinda mean to just say ?a?¶?ú. I can't think of any English equivalents unfortunately, but you might get the idea.[/b][/quote]

[quote]Originally posted by James:

[b]Okay, once again...I'll set it out as clearly as I can. lol

The word otaku, in the context we are using it, basically means "hardcore" when it comes to anime/manga type stuff. Of course, in Japan...it can be considered offensive, depending on context.

And there are a variety of ways in which the word is used. In western culture, otaku is used quite often...and for the most part it is used to describe someone who is a hardcore anime/manga fan.

And so, that is why it was used on theOtaku.com and such. It's a very basic and clear way of describing what the sites are about and waht they relate to -- if you're familiar with anime and you see our site come up on Yahoo! or something...you will immediately have an idea as to what it is about.

Anyway, yeah...I'm surprised that this thread is still alive. I can understand why some people would want to know the meaning (and the context in which we use it) though.
[/b][/quote]

If you're still interested, there is a rather exhaustive discussion of the word in [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=12374]this[/url] thread.[/size]
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