ギャル

ギャル

Japanese

ギャル (gyaru): two gyaru in Tokyo.

Etymology

Borrowed from American English gal.[1][2][3][4][5] Compare the English pronunciation spelling gyal.

First cited to a text from 1931, although rarely used until the late Shōwa period.[1]Popularised during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, originally to refer to ボディコン (bodikon, “body conscious”), an earlier style trend and the predecessor of today’s gyaru.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ギャ​ル [gyáꜜrù] (Atamadaka – [1])[4][5]
• IPA^(key): [ɡʲa̠ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

ギャル • (gyaru) 

1. a girl or young woman
2. gyaru
3. (dated) bodycon

Derived terms

• コギャル (kogyaru, “kogal”)
• ギャルゲーム (gyarugēmu)
  • ギャルゲー (gyarugē)

Descendants

• → English: gyaru

See also

• ガール (gāru, “girl”)

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
3. 1998, 広辞苑 (Kōjien), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
4. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
5. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN