Definition
In the west, "hentai" is synonymous with drawn pornography, specially that which is in manga or anime style. Originally it was used to refer to imported pornographic manga and anime, then it expanded to include adult Japanese games, light novels and visual novels, too, and then it began being used for pornographic works that weren't even Japanese, but instead made by western fans.
The term hentai is never used towards real life porno. Only drawn, 3D rendered, or written fiction.
Genres & Terms
There are certain other Japanese terms that are either sub-genres or related to hentai. These are used by people watch hentai to talk about hentai only. They don't apply to general pornography.
If hentai is (drawn) hardcore pornography, then:
Other hentai terms:
- ahegao あへ顔
O-face. - seme 攻め and uke 受け
Top and bottom (in gay hentai) - futanari ふたなり (also 双成)
Hermaphrodite.
Shemale. (for some) - bukkake ぶっ掛け
Covered in semen.
(from "to pour on," kakeru 掛ける, beware this verb has multiple other meanings) - shibari 縛り
Rope bondage. (bondage in general is kousoku 拘束)
(from "to tie," "to bind," shibaru 縛る) - netorare 寝取られ (also NTR)
Cuckolding.
Having wife, girlfriend, etc. taken by another man. - nakadashi 中出し
Ejaculating inside. Creampie.
(literally "letting inside") - paizuri パイズリ
Tit fuck. Boob job.
(from oppai おっぱい, "boobs" and zuri, "rubbing," from the verb suru 擦る, "to rub") - ryona リョナ
Violence. Punching, etc. Sometimes torture.
(originally tied to heroines in non-pornographic manga, anime and games that were defeated in battle and got captured by the villains)
(some of the above are used towards real porn as well as drawn porn)
Hentai in Japan
So, does hentai mean the same thing in Japan as it does outside of Japan? Does it mean "anime porn" there?
The answer is nope; hentai doesn't mean the same thing in Japan as it does outside of Japan.
So what does hentai mean instead?
Original Meaning of Hentai
Well, the word hentai means "perverted" or "abnormal" in Japanese, usually as in "sexually perverted," an adjective, sometimes used as a noun, "perversion," or, if towards someone, a "pervert."Although the word hentai 変態 itself originally had nothing to do with sex, it's often used as an abbreviation of other words which start with hentai as an adjective which are related to sex, and so, hentai became a sex-related word.
- hentai sei 変態性
Sexual perversion. - hentai seiyoku 変態性欲
Abnormal sexuality.
Most of the time in manga and anime hentai is used towards people. It's the word used when a girl sees a guy spying on her, hentai!, or groping, hentai!, or flashing, hentai!, or just generally being a harem protagonist.
Maybe that's why pornographic manga and anime have come to be called "hentai" in the west? Lots of people get called hentai in hentai because there's a lot of hentai in hentai, so the word stuck? Who knows.
Being a noun / adjective, hentai can also be used to call things perverted. The most common being:
- hentai koui 変態行為
Perverted act.
Equivalent of Hentai in Japanese
So now we know people don't call "anime porn" hentai in Japanese, so what do they call "anime porn" instead? What could possibly be the word for "anime porn" in Japanese?! If not hentai... then what?! What could it be?!?!?!?!?
- ero エロ
Erotic. Pornographic. - anime アニメ
Anime. - ero anime エロアニメ
Porn anime.
Who could have guessed... it's just the words "anime" and "porn" together.
By the way, the following also work:
- adaruto アダルト
Adult. - adaruto anime アダルトアニメ
Adult anime. - jyuu hachi kin １８禁
Forbidden for under 18.
18 prohibited. (literally) - jyuu hachi kin anime １８禁アニメ
Anime forbidden for under 18.
Also, ironically, the word hentai in Japanese can be used to say "erotic anime:" ecchi na anime エッチなアニメ. Even though the word hentai itself can't be used that way.
Save for eighteen-kin １８禁, the words adaruto, ero and ecchi all come from English: Adult, Erotic, and H. All of them written in katakana, not a single one has kanji. Why is that? What's up with this collection of Japanengrish?! Where are the "real" "true" "genuine" Japanese words for porn?
- seijin 成人
Adult. - mukeru 向ける
To face towards. - seijin-muke 成人向け
Towards adults. - seijin-muke anime 成人向けアニメ
Anime for adults.
Though that word exists, the foreign words are just more popular. Maybe because katakana looks cooler than kanji on DVD and Blu-ray covers, or maybe because English sounds cooler than Japanese to Japanese people. I wouldn't know, that's just how it is.
Also, ironically, the word ecchi エッチ in Japanese which comes from the pronunciation of letter H in English that was taken from the first letter of the wordin Japanese can be used to say "erotic anime:"エッチなアニメ. Even though the worditself can't be used that way.Save for eighteen１８禁, the wordsandall come from English: Adult, Erotic, and H. All of them written in katakana, not a single one has kanji. Why is that? What's up with this collection of Japanengrish?! Where are the "real" "true" "genuine" Japanese words for porn?Though that word exists, the foreign words are just more popular. Maybe because katakana looks cooler than kanji on DVD and Blu-ray covers, or maybe because English sounds cooler than Japanese to Japanese people. I wouldn't know, that's just how it is.
Usage
Sometimes a synonym for eighteen-kin １８禁 is used instead, R-18, meaning, as one would expect, "rated 18." A word R-15 also exists for "rated 15." On top of that, there exists some perverted shoujo manga called R-18! and an equally perverted harem novel and anime called R-15, both having their titles based on the terms above. (... and that should hint how incredibly unoriginal both these works are...)
Sometimes a synonym for eighteen１８禁 is used instead,, meaning, as one would expect, "rated 18." A wordalso exists for "rated 15." On top of that, there exists some pervertedmanga called R-18! and an equally perverted harem novel and anime called R-15, both having their titles based on the terms above. (... and that should hint how incredibly unoriginal both these works are...)
Doujinshi vs. Hentai
doujinshi, hentai and porn manga terms have some sort of relationship... which they actually don't.It should be noted that doujinshi 同人誌 are publications by fans, and are often manga, and also often hentai, which might make some people think, hentai and porn manga terms have some sort of relationship... which they actually don't.
To say "porn manga" in Japanese you'd just do the exact same thing we did with "porn anime," just that this time the noun is manga 漫画 not anime アニメ.
- ero manga エロ漫画
adaruto manga アダルト漫画
ecchi na manga エッチな漫画
jyuu hachi kin manga １８禁漫画
seijin-muke manga 成人向け漫画
Porn manga.
Usage:
And since the word doujinshi doesn't mean porn by itself...
- ero doujinshi エロ同人誌
adaruto doujinshi アダルト同人誌
ecchi na doujinshi エッチな同人誌
jyuu hachi kin doujinshi １８禁同人誌
seijin-muke doujinshi 成人向け同人誌
Porn doujinshi.
isn't necessarily a manga and it's not necessarily pornographic either. So the wordis definitelyhow you'd say "hentai manga" or "porn manga" in Japanese.To say "porn manga" in Japanese you'd just do the exact same thing we did with "porn anime," just that this time the noun is漫画 notアニメ.
Kanji of Hentai
In Japan, or rather, in Japanese,変態 doesn't refer to anime and manga porn. In fact, it doesn't refer to any kind of porn at all!So what doesmean instead?Well, the wordmeans "perverted" or "abnormal" in Japanese, usually as in "sexually perverted," an adjective, sometimes used as a noun, "perversion," or, if towards someone, a "pervert."Although the word変態 itself originally had nothing to do with sex, it's often used as an abbreviation of other words which start withas an adjective which are related to sex, and so,became a sex-related word.Most of the time in manga and animeis used towards people. It's the word used when a girl sees a guy spying on her,, or groping,, or flashing,, or just generally being a harem protagonist.Maybe that's why pornographic manga and anime have come to be called "hentai" in the west? Lots of people get calledin hentai because there's a lot ofin hentai, so the word stuck? Who knows.Being a noun / adjective, hentai can also be used to call things perverted. The most common being:
The word hentai written in Japanese is 変体. With the kanji hen 変, meaning "change" or "strange," and tai 態, meaning "attitude" or "appearance." Here are some examples of other words and phrases written with these kanji:
- hen desu 変です
[Something] is strange. Abnormal. Changed. - henka 変化
Change. - henshin 変身
Metamorphosis.
Change of body. Transformation. - taihen 大変
Troublesome. Great trouble.
Cheat abnormality. Great change. (literally) - nani sono taido? 何その態度？
What's [with] that attitude? - kono joutai de この状態で
In this situation...
In this condition...
Hentai 変態 vs. Hentai 変体
hentai 変体 is homonym with hentai 変態 (same sound, different meaning.) When hentai is written with the tai 態 of taido 態度, "behavior," it means abnormal or altered behavior (perversion). When it's written with the tai 体 of taikei 体形, "form of body," it means abnormal or altered body (physical transformation).
The word変体 is homonym with変態 (same sound, different meaning.) When hentai is written with the態 of態度, "behavior," it means abnormal or altered behavior (perversion). When it's written with the体 of体形, "form of body," it means abnormal or altered body (physical transformation).
One example of shape or form変体 is the obsolete変体仮名. Which had theofaltered in shape, hence変体, but didn't pervert their behavior anyhow, so not変態.
In the west, "hentai" refers to any pornographic manga, anime, game, visual novel, or pretty any fiction with 2D drawn or 3D rendered characters. It's drawn Japanese porn. Everybody knows this. But what does the wordmean in Japanese? Does変態 mean the same thing in Japan as it does outside of Japan?
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