"waifu" meaning in English

See waifu in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈwaɪfuː/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-waifu.wav Forms: waifu [plural], waifus [plural]
Rhymes: -aɪfuː Etymology: From Japanese ワイフ (waifu), itself from English wife; popularized by 4chan. Doublet of wife. Believed to have first appeared in concept in famous anime Azumanga Daioh, though be it the word is attested much older [1860]. Etymology templates: {{bor|en|ja|ワイフ|tr=waifu}} Japanese ワイフ (waifu), {{der|en|en|wife}} English wife, {{doublet|en|wife}} Doublet of wife, {{defdate|1860}} [1860] Head templates: {{en-noun|waifu|s}} waifu (plural waifu or waifus)
  1. (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. Wikipedia link: 4chan, Azumanga Daioh Tags: Internet, slang Categories (topical): Fandom Synonyms: wife, wifey Hypernyms: soulbond Related terms: mai (english: my) Coordinate_terms: husbando Translations (a fictional character that one is attracted to): ওয়াইফু (ōẇaiphu) (Bengali), 老婆 (lǎopo) (Chinese Mandarin), (jià) (Chinese Mandarin), waifu (Finnish), waifu [feminine] (French), waifus [feminine, plural] (French), (yome) (alt: よめ) (Japanese), waifu [feminine] (Portuguese)

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for waifu meaning in English (6.5kB)

{
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "ja",
        "3": "ワイフ",
        "tr": "waifu"
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      "expansion": "Japanese ワイフ (waifu)",
      "name": "bor"
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      "expansion": "English wife",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
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      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of wife",
      "name": "doublet"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1860"
      },
      "expansion": "[1860]",
      "name": "defdate"
    }
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  "etymology_text": "From Japanese ワイフ (waifu), itself from English wife; popularized by 4chan. Doublet of wife.\nBelieved to have first appeared in concept in famous anime Azumanga Daioh, though be it the word is attested much older [1860].",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "waifu",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waifus",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
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          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Fandom",
          "orig": "en:Fandom",
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          "word": "husbando"
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        {
          "ref": "2008 October 30, Galen, “Re: Japanese launch campaign to marry comic book characters”, in rec.arts.manga (Usenet)",
          "text": "So long as I get to claim my virtual waifu and our 30 virtual children as tax deductions, I don't really care if I can't touch her.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 December 31, Dave Watson, “Re: K-ON! 2nd season announced”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet)",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
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        {
          "ref": "2012, Dani Cavallaro, Kyoto Animation: A Critical Study and Filmography, McFarland & Company, published 2012, page 126",
          "text": "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]. […]",
          "type": "quotation"
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        "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."
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      "hypernyms": [
        {
          "word": "soulbond"
        }
      ],
      "id": "en-waifu-en-noun-DwF0dXN0",
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        [
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        "(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."
      ],
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        {
          "english": "my",
          "word": "mai"
        }
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      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "wife"
        },
        {
          "word": "wifey"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Internet",
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "lifestyle"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "bn",
          "lang": "Bengali",
          "roman": "ōẇaiphu",
          "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
          "word": "ওয়াইফু"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "lǎopo",
          "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
          "word": "老婆"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "jià",
          "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
          "word": "嫁"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
          "word": "waifu"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "waifu"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
          "tags": [
            "feminine",
            "plural"
          ],
          "word": "waifus"
        },
        {
          "alt": "よめ",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "yome",
          "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
          "word": "嫁"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "waifu"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "4chan",
        "Azumanga Daioh"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈwaɪfuː/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-aɪfuː"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-waifu.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c6/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-waifu.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-waifu.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c6/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-waifu.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-waifu.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "waifu"
}
{
  "coordinate_terms": [
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      "word": "husbando"
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  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
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      "name": "bor"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1860"
      },
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      "name": "defdate"
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  "etymology_text": "From Japanese ワイフ (waifu), itself from English wife; popularized by 4chan. Doublet of wife.\nBelieved to have first appeared in concept in famous anime Azumanga Daioh, though be it the word is attested much older [1860].",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "waifu",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waifus",
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        "plural"
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  ],
  "hypernyms": [
    {
      "word": "soulbond"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "english": "my",
      "word": "mai"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English 2-syllable words",
        "English 4chan slang",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English doublets",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
        "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
        "English fandom slang",
        "English indeclinable nouns",
        "English internet slang",
        "English lemmas",
        "English nouns",
        "English nouns with irregular plurals",
        "English terms borrowed back into English",
        "English terms borrowed from Japanese",
        "English terms derived from Japanese",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Mandarin links with redundant wikilinks",
        "Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
        "Rhymes:English/aɪfuː",
        "Rhymes:English/aɪfuː/2 syllables",
        "Terms with Bengali translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "en:Fandom"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008 October 30, Galen, “Re: Japanese launch campaign to marry comic book characters”, in rec.arts.manga (Usenet)",
          "text": "So long as I get to claim my virtual waifu and our 30 virtual children as tax deductions, I don't really care if I can't touch her.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 December 31, Dave Watson, “Re: K-ON! 2nd season announced”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet)",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Dani Cavallaro, Kyoto Animation: A Critical Study and Filmography, McFarland & Company, published 2012, page 126",
          "text": "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]. […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "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."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "fandom",
          "fandom"
        ],
        [
          "slang",
          "slang"
        ],
        [
          "Internet",
          "Internet"
        ],
        [
          "fictional",
          "fictional"
        ],
        [
          "female",
          "female"
        ],
        [
          "character",
          "character"
        ],
        [
          "live-action",
          "live action"
        ],
        [
          "visual",
          "visual"
        ],
        [
          "media",
          "media"
        ],
        [
          "anime",
          "anime"
        ],
        [
          "manga",
          "manga"
        ],
        [
          "video game",
          "video game"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(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."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Internet",
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "lifestyle"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "4chan",
        "Azumanga Daioh"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "ipa": "/ˈwaɪfuː/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-aɪfuː"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-waifu.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c6/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-waifu.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-waifu.wav.mp3",
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    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "wife"
    },
    {
      "word": "wifey"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bn",
      "lang": "Bengali",
      "roman": "ōẇaiphu",
      "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
      "word": "ওয়াইফু"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "lǎopo",
      "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
      "word": "老婆"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "jià",
      "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
      "word": "嫁"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
      "word": "waifu"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "waifu"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "waifus"
    },
    {
      "alt": "よめ",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "yome",
      "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
      "word": "嫁"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "a fictional character that one is attracted to",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "waifu"
    }
  ],
  "word": "waifu"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-06-23 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-06-20 using wiktextract (1b9bfc5 and 0136956). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.