kawaii

English

kawaii fashion

Japanese kawaii girl characters.

kawaii refuse bins

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 可愛い, かわいい (kawaii, “lovable, adorable; cute”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kəˈwaɪ.i/
• (US) IPA^(key): /kəˈwaɪ(.i)/
• (emulating Japanese) enPR: kä-wä-ē, IPA^(key): /kɑːwɑːˈiː/

• Rhymes: -aɪi, -aɪ
• Hyphenation: ka‧waii

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

kawaii (comparative more kawaii, superlative most kawaii)

1. (chiefly in the context of Japanese culture, ACG) Cute, adorable.
   • 2010, Susan Cahill, Emma Hegarty, Emilie Moran, Waste and Abundance: The Measure of Consumption: Special Issue of SubStance, Issue 116, 37:2 (2008), University of Wisconsin Press, →ISBN, page 106:

     However, Wong's connection to kawaii culture, which I have attempted to establish here, suggests a different reading of his films. As Larissa Hjorth has argued, “The kawaii is not about post-humanism but rather a clear demonstration of neo-humanist types” (144). In this sense, East Asian kawaii culture, like Wong's films, should be understood as desperate attempts to create a dreamlike humanist space within the harsh reality of globalized capitalism.

   • 2010, Josef Steiff, Tristan D. Tamplin, Anime and Philosophy: Wide Eyed Wonder, Open Court, →ISBN:

     The female has been reduced to a manageable, nonthreatening form. As we've mentioned, the cyborgs are depicted with typically kawaii features, such as disproportionately large eyes and heads, and thin bodies. Each girl is dressed by her handler in keeping with a particular style. For example, Triela often wears a masculine pants suit […]

   • 2016, Gavriel Salvendy, Waldemar Karwowski, Advances in Cognitive Ergonomics, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 136:

     In the advanced information society of the 21st century with its communication infrastructure of computers and networks, it is crucial to enhance software that utilizes these technologies, that is, digital content. Among such content, various Japanese kawaii characters such as Hello Kitty and Pokemon have become […]

Derived terms

• kawaiily
• kawaiiness

Translations

cute, in the context of Japanese culture

• Arabic: كَاوَايّ (kāwāyy), كَاوَايِيّ (kāwāyiyy)
• Assamese: কাৱাইই (kawaii)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 卡哇伊 (kaa¹ waa¹ ji¹), 可愛／可爱 (ho² oi³)

  Hakka: 卡哇伊 (khà-oa-yì)

  Mandarin: 卡哇伊 (zh) (kǎwāyī), 可愛／可爱 (zh) (kě'ài)

• Esperanto: kaŭaii, kavaja
• French: kawaï (fr), kawaii (fr)
• Georgian: კავაიი (ḳavaii)
• Hebrew: קאוואיי (kaváiy)
• Hungarian: kavaii, kavaí, kawaii
• Ido: kawaii (io)
• Italian: kawaii (it)
• Japanese: 可愛い (ja) (かわいい, kawaii)
• Korean: 카와이 (kawai), 가와이 (gawai)
• Marathi: कावाई (kāvāī)
• Portuguese: kawaii (pt)
• Russian: кава́йный (ru) (kavájnyj), каваи́й (kavaíj) (invariable)
• Spanish: kawaii
• Thai: คะวะอี (ká-wá-ii)
• Ukrainian: кава́йний (kavájnyj)

Noun

kawaii (uncountable)

1. (chiefly in the context of Japanese culture) The quality of being kawaii; cuteness.

   Synonym: kawaiiness

   • 2010, Susan Cahill, Emma Hegarty, Emilie Moran, Waste and Abundance: The Measure of Consumption: Special Issue of SubStance, Issue 116, 37:2 (2008), University of Wisconsin Press, →ISBN, page 106:

     However, Wong's connection to kawaii culture, which I have attempted to establish here, suggests a different reading of his films. As Larissa Hjorth has argued, “The kawaii is not about post-humanism but rather a clear demonstration of neo-humanist types” (144). In this sense, East Asian kawaii culture, like Wong's films, should be understood as desperate attempts to create a dreamlike humanist space within the harsh reality of globalized capitalism.

   • 2014, Anthony Elliott, Masataka Katagiri, Atsushi Sawai, Routledge Companion to Contemporary Japanese Social Theory: From Individualization to Globalization in Japan Today, Routledge, →ISBN:

     Inmates had simply to surrender in fear of a future of simply waiting for death. However, it is not possible to achieve a full understanding of the significance of kawaii in modern society if we fixate only on the disquieting power hiding in the shadows of kawaii things.

2. Cute items, especially from Japan.

Translations

cuteness, in the context of Japanese culture — see kawaiiness

See also

• aegyo
• moe

Further reading

• kawaii on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Japanese

Romanization

kawaii

1. Rōmaji transcription of かわいい

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 可愛い, かわいい (kawaii, “lovable, adorable; cute”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kawaˈji/

Adjective

kawaii (invariable)

1. kawaii (cute, in the context of Japanese culture)

Derived terms

• kawaidade

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 可愛い, かわいい (kawaii, “lovable, adorable; cute”).

Adjective

kawaii (invariable)

1. kawaii (cute, in the context of Japanese culture)