Take this How Kawaii Are You quiz to find out. We update the quiz regularly and it’s the most accurate among the other quizzes.
Kawaii. You may hear it in anime, on TV shows, and on the streets of Japan, where it is spoken by both young and old people. The term has entered the international zeitgeist as a result of people all around the world growing up on Japanese popular culture. But what exactly does “kawaii” mean?
The word literally means “suitable for affection” or “possible to adore” in Japanese, and has been rendered as “cute,” “adorable,” “sweet,” “precious,” “beautiful,” “endearing,” “darling,” and even “small.” In Japanese, it can refer to babies, puppies, young people, apparel, and even senior individuals. Even if your grandmother isn’t decked up in pink bows and a fancy dress, you may call her kawaii in Japanese.
In comparison to the word utsukushii, which means “pretty” or “lovely,” kawaii is more lighthearted. Things can be erokawaii (scary cute), busukawaii (ugly cute), or kimokawaii (creepy cute) (sexy cute). Kawaii is adaptable and enjoyable, whereas utsukushii carries the burden of beauty. It has also made its way into the English language. Also, you must try to play this How Kawaii Are You quiz.
How Kawaii Are You?
“If you translate kawaii into English, it’s ‘cute,’ but kawaii is far more emotional than adorable,” Tokyo fashion tycoon Sebastian Masuda, dubbed the “Godfather of Kawaii,” told me more than a decade ago. With his Harajuku clothes business 6 percent Doki Doki, which opened in 1995, the apparel designer has been a key figure in the contemporary kawaii fashion phenomenon. However, contemporary kawaii culture began far earlier.
During the 1970s, Japan saw a kawaii boom that seemed to last forever. While the term had definitely been used previously, it was then that kawaii became commodified on a never-before-seen scale. Students carried bags embossed with Snoopy, a character still referred to as “kawaii” in Japanese, while Sanrio developed a little coin purse adorned with Hello Kitty, the now-iconic epitome of kawaii. While the design of the feline mascot reminded me of Dick Bruna’s Miffy, the coin purse was a big hit. Cute stationery was also fashionable, and young women like to write in round characters since they were softer and gentler than traditional ones. Simply said, they were more adorable.
Kawaii culture was not only solidifying at the time, but it was also becoming a major business. The 1980s eagerly followed suit, ushering in a slew of adorable idols, both male and female. Young women began speaking in infantile tones, and anime repurposed that style of communication for large audiences. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, kawaii grew in popularity, with fashion becoming louder and more colorful. Nonetheless, the word’s original meaning has persisted in Japan. It alluded not only to saccharine pop idols, but also to a wide range of other things, including birds, desserts, and even the Japanese royal family.
About the quiz
Contemporary Japanese culture has spread widely over the last several decades through video games, anime, pop music, and fashion. Japanese sensibilities, lacking the context, seep in, bringing with them new concepts and terms. Non-Japanese-speaking people first discover kawaii through bright, hyper-cute fashion or art, rather than through newborns, puppies, and charming grannies. The initial definition and default meaning are pink-pastel, bow-covered cutesy. All other definitions and uses fade into obscurity, and the word frequently takes on concentrated subtleties. This isn’t always a terrible thing, because the borrowed word may have a more precise meaning. Knowing the original usage, on the other hand, can provide insight into the culture from which the word was introduced.
Foreign words have long been accepted in Japanese, as they have in English. For well over a thousand years, foreign terms have been added to the Japanese language. The written language of China was first introduced to Japan via Korea in the fifth century. Portuguese, Dutch, English, and German terms, among others, have all found their way into the Japanese language for a variety of causes over hundreds of years.
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