This page shows the preferred (and enforced) romanization of certain clipped loanwords or Japanese-made English words.
If you see used loanwords in titles that are missing and could be romanized differently, please contact us on Discord so we can standarize them!
MangaBaka Slang & Clipped Loanword Reference Table#↑
Use this table to determine the primary romanization for common clipped slang and portmanteaus.
| Expression | Primary Title (MangaBaka) | Alternative Title (Search) | Linguistic Origin | Meaning / Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ギャル | Gyaru² | Gal | Assimilated English gal | Japanese “Gal” subculture |
| モブ | Mobu² | Mob | Assimilated English mob | Background/Insignificant (Side/NPC) character |
| ヤンキー | Yankii² | Yankee | Assimilated English yankee | Delinquint |
| パッド | Paddo² | Pad | Assimilated English pad or padding | Usually specifically “Bra Padding” |
| スーパー | Suupaa / Super (context) | Super | Clipped suupaamaaketto or from English Super | Supermarket or Super |
| アパート | Apaato | Apartment | Clipped apaatomento | Apartment |
| アプリ | Apuri | App / Appli | Clipped apurikeeshon | Application / App |
| アラサー | Arasaa | Around 30 | Around + thirty | Person around 30 years old |
| アラフォー | Arafoo | Around 40 / Arafou | Around + forty | Person around 40 years old |
| アラフィフ | Arafifu | Around 50 | Around + fifty | Person around 50 years old |
| アラカン | Arakan | Around 60 | Around + kanreki | Person around 60 years old |
| バリキャリ | Barikyari | - | Baribari + career | Energetic career woman |
| リーマン | Riiman | Ryman | Clipped Sarariiman | Salary man |
| ドＳ / ドＭ | Do-S / Do-M | - | Prefix do (extreme) + S/M | Extreme Sadist / Masochist |
| ド<noun> | Do-<noun> | - | Prefix do (extreme) + Noun | Extreme x; Do-hentai -> Extreme Pervert |
| デリヘル | Deriheru | Delivery Health | Clipped deribarii herusu (Japanese-made English) | Prostitution / Call Girl Business |
| イケボ | Ikebo | Ikemen Voice | Clipped ikemen boisu | Attractive/Sexy Male Voice |
| チャラ男 | Charao | - | Charai + otoko | Flashy/shallow playboy |
| セフレ | Sefure | Sex Friend | Clipped sekkusu furendo | Friends with benefits |
| スマホ | Sumaho | Smartphone | Clipped sumaatofon | Smartphone |
| <noun>サー | <Noun>-saa | X Circle | Clipped <Noun> saakuru | Common interest group/club |
| <noun>ドル | <Noun>doru¹ | Xdol | Clipped <Noun> aidoru | 裏ドル (Uradoru) / 姫ドル (Himedoru) / だめどる (Damedoru) / etc. |
| グラドル | Guradoru | GraDol | Clipped gurabia aidoru | bikini model (usually teenage); pin-up girl |
| フェチ | Fechi | Fetish | Clipped fetisshu | A fetish / obsession |
| エステ | Esute | Esthetic | Clipped esutetikku | Beauty clinic / Esthetics |
| ハラ | Hara | Harassment | Clipped harasumento | Regular/Unspecified Harassment |
| セクハラ | Sekuhara | Sexual Harassment | Clipped sekusharu harasumento | Sexual Harassment |
| パワハラ | Pawahara | Power Harassment | Clipped pawaa harasumento | Workplace Harassement from a postion of power |
| マタハラ | Matahara | Maternity Harassment | Clipped matenitii harasumento | Workplace Harassement against pregnant woman |
| クリ / クリちゃん | Kuri / Kuri-chan | - | Clipped kuritorisu | Clitoris (slang) |
| 元カレ / モトカレ | Motokare¹ | - | Moto + clipped kareshi | Ex-boyfriend |
| 元カノ / モトカノ | Motokano¹ | - | Moto + clipped kanojo | Ex-girlfriend |
| ワンナイト | One Night | - | usu. abbr. ワンナイトラブ wannaitorabu | One-Night Stand |
| 推しカプ | Oshikapu¹ | Oshi Couple | Clipped oshi kapuru | OTP / Favorite Shipping (Pair) |
| スパダリ | Supadari¹ | Super Darling | Clipped suupaa daarin | The "perfect" husband/partner |
| ハニトラ | Hanitora¹ | Honey Trap | Clipped hanii torappu | Honey Trap |
| ラブハメ | Rabu-hame | Love Hame | Love + clipped hameru | Lovey-dovey sex |
| ラブホ | Rabuho | Love Hotel | Clipped rabu hoteru | Love Hotel |
| ラブコメ | Rabukome | Romcom / Love Comedy | clipped from Japanese-made English rabu komedi | |
| イチャラブ | Icharabu | Icha Love | Clipped Ichaicha + Raburabu | Making out being all Lovey-dovey |
| ゲーセン | Geesen | Game Center | Clipped geemu sentaa | Arcade / Game center |
| キャラ | Kyara | Chara | Clipped kyarakutaa | Character / personality |
| 陰キャ / 陰キャラ | Inkya / Inkyara | InCha / InChara | In (shadow) + kyara | Gloomy/introverted person |
| 陽キャ / 陽キャラ | Youkya / Youkyara | YouCha / YouChara | You (sun) + kyara | Cheerful/extroverted person |
| ネタキャラ | Netakyara | NetaChara | Neta (not a loanword) + kyara | Joke/meme character |
| リア充 | Riajuu | - | Real + juujitsu | Someone with a fulfilling life / Normie |
| バイト | Baito | - | Clipped from arubaito (German) | Part-time job |
| ネトゲ / ネトゲー | Netoge | - | Clipped netto geemu | Online/Network game |
| エロゲ / エロゲー | Eroge | - | Clipped ero geemu | Adult/Erotic game |
| サバゲ / サバゲー | Sabage | - | Clipped sabaibaru geemu | Survival game |
| 乙女ゲ / 乙女ゲー | Otomege¹ | - | Clipped otome geemu | Female audience targeted dating sim |
| 無理ゲ / 無理ゲー | Murige¹ | - | Clipped muri geemu | Impossible Game |
Note
- These are fixed lexicalized compound words or fandom labels. They are not separated, as they do not function as free-standing nouns syntactically modifying another noun.
- These words have undergone semantic narrowing or specialization in Japanese and are not fully equivalent to their English counterparts. Therefore they are romanized directly from the Japanese kana form.
Important
The alternative romanizations listed are to be used in alternative titles for title search optimization. These are established romanizations used by other metadata platforms (such as MyAnimeList or AniList).
By adding these as alternatives, users will achieve better search matches even when using more “traditional” or phonetic romanization styles.
Tip
- Gyaru is not equivalent to the American Gal anymore as its meaning has significally shifted to represent a specific Japanese subculture, so to preserve the Japanese meaning it is romanized as “Gyaru”.
- Mobu has its meaning in Japanese shifted to be specific or nuanced as background or insignificant (side) character. While English mob its meaning is a “crowd” or “unruly group of people” or an “enemy monster/npc” in gaming terms.
MangaBaka Slang & Clipped Loanword Reference TableTranslated To English Equivalents#↑
| Expression | Primary Title (MangaBaka) | Alternative Title (Search) | Linguistic Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| ロリ | Loli | - | Clipped from “Lolita” (ロリータ) |
| ロリコン | Lolicon | - | Clipped from compound; “Lolita Complex” (ロリータ + コンプレックス) |
| ブラコン | Brocon | - | Clipped from compound; “Brother Complex” (ブラザー + コンプレックス) |
| シスコン | Siscon | - | Clipped from compound; “Sister Complex” (シスター + コンプレックス) |
| ファザコン | Fathercon | - | Clipped from compound; “Father Complex” (ファザ + コンプレックス), fused to match the other -con's |
| マザコン | Mothercon | - | Clipped from compound; “Mother Complex” (マザ + コンプレックス), fused to match the other -con's |
| コスプレ | Cosplay | - | Clipped from compund “Costume Play” (コスチュームプレー) |
Non-Clipped Loanwords or Japanese-made English Words#↑
| Expression | Primary Title (MangaBaka) | Alternative Title (Search) | Linguistic Origin | Meaning / Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| イチャイチャ | Ichaicha | - | Dictionary adverb | Flirting / Making out |
| ラブラブ | Raburabu | Love Love | From Japanese-made English “Love Love” | Lovey-dovey |
| エロゲーム | Ero Game | - | Ero + Game | Adult/Erotic game |
| 乙女ゲーム | Otome Game | - | Maiden + Game | Female audience targeted dating sim |
| エンカウント | Encount | Encounter | From Japanese-made English “Encount” | Enemy Encounter |
| ラブコメディ | Love Comedy | From Japanese-made English | ||
| グラビアアイドル | Gravure Idol | From Japanese-made English |
Non-English Loanwords#↑
| Expression | Primary Title (MangaBaka) | Alternative Title (Search) | Linguistic Origin | Meaning / Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| アルバイト | Arbeit | - | From German meaning “Work” | |
| ザーメン | Samen | Semen | From German meaning “Semen” | |
| オナニー | Onanie | - | From German meaning “Mastrubation” | |
| アンケート | Enquête | Ankeeto | From French meaning “Survey / Questionnaire” |
Tip
Many medical or sexual terms in Japanese (e.g., Samen, Onanie) are derived from German, not English.
We restore these to their German spellings rather than attempting to force them into English equivalents or literal phonetic transcriptions like “Zaamen”.
Normal Japanese Words Often Romanized Wrong#↑
| Expression | Primary Title (MangaBaka) | Meaning / Context |
|---|---|---|
| ちゅー / チュー | Chuu | Kiss, long vowel always written out |
| べろちゅー / ベロチュー | Berochuu | Deep/French Kiss, one word, long vowel always written out |