萌え

萌え

Japanese

Kanji in this term
萌
も Jinmeiyō
kun’yomi

Etymology

The 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 萌える (moeru, “to bud, sprout; be aroused”).

The "feelings of affection towards a fictional character" sense likely first appeared in the early 1990s.[1]

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) もえ [mòé] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [mo̞e̞]

Noun

萌え (hiragana もえ, rōmaji moe)

1. budding, sprouting
2. (anime, manga slang) moe: feelings of affection towards a fictional character

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 萌 (も)え萌 (も)え (moemoe)
• 萌 (も)え車 (しゃ) (moesha)
• 萌 (も)え年 (ねん)賀 (が)状 (じょう) (moe nengajō)
• 萌 (も)え豚 (ぶた) (moebuta)
• 萌 (も)え要 (よう)素 (そ) (moe yōso)
• ギャップ萌 (も)え (gyappu moe)
• 工 (こう)場 (じょう)萌 (も)え (kōjō moe)

Descendants

• → Chinese:
  • Mandarin: 萌 (méng, “cute”)
• → English: moe, moé

Verb

萌え (hiragana もえ, rōmaji moe)

1. imperfective and stem (or continuative) forms of 萌える (moeru) [ichidan]: budding, sprouting

References

1. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN