May 23, 2006 23:09
18 yrs ago
English term

tomboy

Non-PRO English to Japanese Other Slang Japanese slang and terminology
Hello. What are Japanese slang terms for tomboy? Please list as many synonyms as you can, and please use Romanized Japanese. Thank you. :D
Change log

May 24, 2006 11:56: Shimpei Shimizu (X) changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (3): humbird, Can Altinbay, Shimpei Shimizu (X)

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Discussion

humbird May 24, 2006:
No offense, but I do not think this is "PRO" level term.
humbird May 24, 2006:
What is the nature of your source material? Is it popular material such as anime, or some type of literature such as novel, or even a daily conversation? What you choose from suggested answer depends on the contexual material.
Mavericker (X) (asker) May 23, 2006:
Questoin for Mike Thank you Mike-but are there any Japanese slang terms for tomboy/hoyden?
Mavericker (X) (asker) May 23, 2006:
Please respond in English Please post all responses in English-that is the prefered language. Thank you.

Proposed translations

+2
21 mins
Selected

otenba (musume), okyan (na musume), hanekaeri, yancha,

The above terms are found in the Kenkyusha's J to E dictionary.
Peer comment(s):

agree Yukari Nakamura : I agree with "Otenba(musume)".
1 hr
neutral humbird : "Otenba" is most standard translation for this English, but I doubt if this is a slang.
4 hrs
agree Iyasu Nagata : "Otenba" is the term you're looking for. Hands down.
18 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
1 hr

sukeban

'Sukeban' is the one came up in my mind.
Peer comment(s):

agree humbird : Comment corrected -- "Sukeban" is a girl who is a leader of a gang group, who acts/talks/behaves like a boy honcho. Still feel far-fetched, but it is a slang all right.
3 hrs
I agree with you, but the questioner insists to search 'slang term' for some reason and 'otenba' 'okyan' are not slang
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

otoko no onna

I heard 'otoko no onna' [男の女] in the anime Revolutionary Girl Utena ^^; describe the tomboy heroine of the series, Tenjo Utena.

It sounded really offensive to me though.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-05-24 02:10:47 GMT)
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type:
describing*

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Note added at 5 hrs (2006-05-24 04:12:03 GMT)
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'otoko onna' then.
Thank you, koyama-san!
Peer comment(s):

agree humbird : More colloquial term is "otoko onna", no "no". Well despite your personal inclination this slang is invented long before the era of political correctness. I believe this is closest.
1 hr
it has been a while since i heard it you see. merci, koyama-san :)
disagree Iyasu Nagata : as Susan says, there is a term "otoko onna" but it usually refers to someone older than tomboy age, and has more of a connotation of "androgenous" or "lacking in feminine charm"
15 hrs
as i said before, it has been used to describe the protagonist of shojo-anime shoujo kakumei utena. frankly, i don't understand what you are disagreeing on, nagata-san. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Girl_Utena
Something went wrong...
-1
12 hrs

じゃじゃ馬(jajauma) or おてんば(otenba)

Are you familiar with one of the Shakespeare's famous plays "The Taming of the Shrew", which is titled as ”じゃじゃ馬ならし (jaja uma narashi)" in Japanese. The term "jajauma" here would be possibly also referred to as "otenba" as closest in its meaning. You know what it is. Here I guess Shakespeare's play or movie titled above would be a good reference.

BTW have never read nor watched the title or its drama myself! I just know what the term means there. "A very lively young girl who enjoys activities and games that are traditionally considered to be for boys" as defined in Oxford Modern Dictionary.


HTH in some way

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Note added at 12 hrs (2006-05-24 11:16:16 GMT)
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I should note it need not necessarily to be slang words in Japanese as to appropariate translations.
Peer comment(s):

disagree Ala Rabie : well, mulberryfieldさん, i have read shakespear's play in many languages as well as the original, and katherina minola was never a tomboy! shrew = a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherina_Minola をご参照くださいませ。
2 days 6 hrs
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