Waifu – What Does Waifu Mean?
Have you ever heard of the term waifu, mainly used by people who are into cartoons or anime? Well, if you’re wondering what it is, we are here to tell you about the meaning, history, and interesting facts about the term waifu. We will also tell you why only animal lovers use this term and not the people who don’t watch anime.
What is Waifu?
People who like watching anime use the term waifu for their favorite fictional character that they crush to address them as their wife. Boys or men mostly use the term; women also use it to show their love for male characters; however, there is another term called ‘husbando’ that girls use to show their affection for a male character.
Boys also like to call their favorite anime characters ‘waifu laifu,’ which means wife for life to show how much they love them. Some people find the word waifu and its use very weird considering that they are not real-life romantic partners; however, there is nothing wrong with using it.
What does Waifu Mean?
Waifu is an English loanword used in Japanese Otaku culture for fictional characters who someone endears and loves like an original individual. It is a fun term that is not used by any specific gender; instead, people use it to show love for their favorite fictional character.
However, some people are very serious about their waifu and wear a wedding band to show that they are married to their favorite anime, and that obsession can be dangerous. A person who goes that extreme in loving an anime character does everything according to the likes and dislikes of that character.
Origin of Term
According to Google Records, unlike other slangs and terms, waifu is not that old, considering that it became popular in 2007. The word waifu was first introduced in Chinese and Japanese culture to avoid insulting words for wives like ‘Kanai,’ which means those who stay in the house. The word for husbands was ‘Danna,’ which means master, which can be very upsetting for women. So, with time people adapted the English words ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ and converted them into ‘waifu’ and ‘hazu.’ earlier, these terms were only used in Japanese culture. However, they moved to America and other countries where manga fans were.
In 2010, the first anime character who got very popular and loved by people so much that they started calling her waifu was Azumanga Daioh. And since then, people started becoming committed to actual relationships with anime where they banned real people.
Interesting Facts
- Many people in waifu commitments or relationships suffer from social anxiety and have online waifu communities.
- Many people in waifu relationships think of having sex with an original individual as adultery.
- In 2022 the top waifu voted by people is sword slinging Erza Scarlet.
- Having a waifu comes from a very normal thinking and brain process in which people are aware that the character is fictional and has nothing to do with real life.