へた文字

Japanese

Kanji in this term
文	字
もん > も Grade: 1	じ Grade: 1

Alternative spelling
下手文字

Etymology

Compound of 下手 (heta, “incompetent, unskilled, clumsy”) +‎ 文字 (“writing, script, characters, letters”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [he̞ta̠mo̞ʑi]

Noun

へた文(も)字(じ) • (heta-moji) 

1. a form of cryptic Japanese writing that substitutes similar-looking characters for the characters intended
   • 2003 December 20, “Nippon ryūkōki: gyaru-moji”, in Yomiuri Shimbun, page 9:

     「（ナ”Ｗ（キ？」「八”Ｔ八”Ｔ」。それぞれ「元気？」「バイバイ」と書いてあるそうだ。「ギャル文字」とか「へた文字」と呼ばれるもの

     （ナ”Ｗ（キ？ 「八”Ｔ八”Ｔ. Sorezore “genki?” “baibai” to kaitearu sō da. “Gyaru-moji” to ka “heta moji” to yobareru mono.

     （ナ”Ｗ（キ？, 八”Ｔ八”Ｔ. Respectively, “Are you well?” and “Bye-bye” are written like that. It's something called “gyaru-moji” or “heta-moji”

Synonyms

• ギャル文(も)字(じ) (gyaru-moji)