Types of Seme & Uke

Seme vs. Zeme

A note on Japanese language: sometimes when a word is used as suffix, the pronunciation of said suffix changes in way that's called

In the case of the word seme, it would turn into zeme. For example, kotoba-zeme 言葉攻め means "verbal abuse," literally "attack of words." This only happens in compound words. So kawaii-zeme would be wrong, since it's an adjective and a noun, separate words: kawaii seme 可愛い攻め.

In some dictionaries I found 総攻め written as sou-zeme, although referring to "total attack" not to a "total top." The Pixiv dictionary says the reading is sou seme, and I'm gonna trust Pixiv on this one. Therefore I'm assuming every type of seme is X-seme, not X-zeme.

Non-BL labels

Do note that the words below are pretty much just an adjective before a noun, just like the phrase "yellow car" in English. There's nothing special about them. (I got most of them from the Pixiv dictionary, pages 攻め and 受け , by the way)A note on Japanese language: sometimes when a word is used as suffix, the pronunciation of said suffix changes in way that's called rendaku 連濁 . This only happens in compound words.In the case of the wordit would turn into. For example,言葉攻め means "verbal abuse," literally "attack of words." This only happens in compound words. Sowould be wrong, since it's an adjective and a noun, separate words:可愛い攻め.In some dictionaries I found 総攻め written as, although referring to "total attack" not to a "total top." The Pixiv dictionary says the reading is, and I'm gonna trust Pixiv on this one. Therefore I'm assuming every type ofis, not

seme and uke are anime characters so they can get labelled with any random fandom terms such as ikemen, bishuonen, otaku, hikikomori, etc. Since those were already explained in other articles they won't be explained here.

Bothandare anime characters so they can get labelled with any random fandom terms such as tsundere, kuudere, yandere , etc. Since those were already explained in other articles they won't be explained here.

sou uke 総受け

From the prefix sou 総, meaning "total."

sou uke is a character who is a "total uke." That is, a character that is always uke. No matter which other character he is shipped with, he's never seme.

is a character who is a "total uke." That is, a character that is always. No matter which other character he is shipped with, he's never

Alternatively, a sou uke is a character that makes all other characters become seme for him and go after him.

sou seme 総攻め

Counterpart of sou uke.

A sou seme is a "total top." A character who is a seme no matter which other character he is shipped with. Or, alternatively, a character who makes all characters become uke for him.

heibon uke 平凡受け

The word heibon 平凡 means "common," or "ordinary."

A heibon uke is an uke with nothing special about him.

sasoi uke 誘い受け

From the verb sasou 誘う, "to invite" or "to tempt."

A sasoi uke is a "seducing uke." An uke who, as the popular phrase goes, "is asking for it." Practically, but not always literally. He can be just doing things like saying "today is hot isn't it," and taking off their shirt, etc.

This term specially denotes a scenario where the uke takes initiative, since the general idea is that it's the seme takes active role in conquest and thus must make the first step. Something like a sasoi uke is needed in rare scenarios where the seme isn't assertive enough.

osoi uke 襲い受け

From the verb osou 襲う, "to assault." Not to be confused with the adjective osoi 遅い, which means "slow."

An osoi uke is an uke who jumps over (assaults) the seme. This is like a sasoi uke on steroids. Maybe the seme is too dense to get a hint so a more physical approach is required.

Anyway, an osoi uke can be anything from simply touching, kissing, flirting, to groping or even sexually assaulting (yes, I mean raping, although not legally "raping" since he's an uke and ukes can't rape blahblahblah).

do-S ドS, do-M ドM

The terms do-S and do-M mean someone is a "sadist" and "masochist" respectively (from S&M).

A do-S seme ドS攻め is a seme who's a sadist. A do-M uke ドM受け would be an uke who's a masochist.

Normally in Japanese just S or M would suffice to seriously call someone "sadist" or "masochist." The do prefix here is used to make it "very" or "super," as in "super sadist" or "super masochist." It's exaggerated, and often used jokingly or as criticism toward someone.

For example, a boss who gives a high workload to his employees would be called as do-S, a "sadist," due to his mercilessness, and not really because of anything to do with sex. Due to this, do-S is a rather common slang, and do-M isn't used as much.

That is to say that while do-S seme is a common term, do-M uke is not.

Also, mazo uke マゾ受け is another way of saying "masochist uke." It works for mazo seme too.

kichiku seme 鬼畜攻め

From kichiku 鬼畜, meaning "brute."

A kichiku seme is a seme who is also a brutal sadist (toward the uke, likely). Probably called this for having no pity in a way or another or making excessive demands. In other words, a kichiku seme is an extremely do-S seme.

kenage uke 健気受け

From kenage 健気, meaning "brave" or "industrious."

A kenage uke is an uke who unconditionally loves the seme no matter what terrible things are done to him.

hetare seme ヘタレ攻め

From the verb hetaru へたる, which means "to fall exhausted, "comes the word hetare ヘタレ, which in this case is used as a personality.

A person who is hetare ヘタレ is someone weak-willed, easily scared. That has a loser attitude.

A hetare seme is, pretty much, the weakest possible seme that nobody really knows how the hell did he even become a seme to begin with. Must have been some sort of BL miracle after a fujoshi wished upon a star.

Anyway, a hetare seme is shy of gay romance. Doesn't think he's worth his partner. And will be extremely cautious to the point of being passive. So for a hetare seme to even exist at all, he needs to be paired with a non-orthodox uke that is more romantically assertive than the average uke (like a sasoi uke or osoi uke) otherwise it'll be a timidness contest.

wanko uke わんこ受け and wanko seme わんこ攻め

wanko わんこ, which is a childish word meaning "puppy," which combines ko 子, In this case it refers to a wanko personality, not to an actual puppy.

From the wordわんこ, which is a childish word meaning "puppy," which combines "woof," wan わん with "child,"子, In this case it refers to apersonality, not to an actual puppy.

Basically, a wanko is someone who's loyal and faithful to someone else, just like a dog.

So a wanko seme is someone devoted to their uke, and a wanko uke is devoted to their seme.

koakuma uke 小悪魔受け

From ko-akuma 小悪魔, a "small" akuma 悪魔, "demon." In this case referring to the ko-akuma personality.

A koakuma uke is an uke who's slightly sadistic (do-S uke?!) and will use his appearance to toy with his seme. It's called "small demon" or "small devil" because it's not like he's going to manipulate people into some sort of satanic ritualistic sacrifice, but just having fun at others' expense.

bitch uke ビッチ受け

From bicchi ビッチ, loaned from English "bitch." In Japan, this word has a meaning closer to "slut," someone who'll date anyone, and not anything like to a stuck-up bitch.

A bitch uke is an uke who thinks of sex all the time and probably will do it with anyone and everyone.

hime uke 姫受け

From hime 姫, meaning "princess."

A hime uke is an uke that's treated like a princess. That is, cherished by one seme, or even by multiple.

joousama uke 女王様受け

From joou-sama 女王様, meaning "queen."

This is totally different from hime uke. A joousama uke is not an uke that's treated like a "queen," it's an uke who acts like a "queen." That is, with an air of superiority toward the seme and maybe toward everyone else, and full of pride too.

tsukushi seme 尽くし攻め

From verb tsukusu 尽くす, which means "to do until exhausted" or "to devote."

A tsukushi seme is one wholeheartedly devoted to the uke, and is willing to do anything and everything for him. This kind of seme is a match for the joou-sama uke, since no other seme would be stupid devoted enough to tolerate the whims of the joou-sama and stick around.

otokomae uke 男前受け

From otoko 男, "man," and mae 前, "front," or otoko-mae 男前, "man front, " meaning someone who acts like a man.

An otoko-mae uke is an uke who acts like a man. Just being a man doesn't cut it, he has to act like one. The point of this word is that it's contradictory to the expectation in yaoi that the uke, who's bottom, must consequently act less like a man, more emotionally and feminine, or at most neutral.

An otoko-mae uke is an uke thats make one think he's a seme character from his personality and behavior.

otome uke 乙女受け