Ahoge - Meaning in Japanese
Thursday, May 18, 2017
If you like anime, you might have heard about the word ahoge before. It refers to those hairs that don't behave and spring up from the head of characters. They usually look like a banana or a crescent moon. But what does the word ahoge means in Japanese? Where does this meaning come from?
(part of Meanings of Anime Words)
Well, ahoge アホ毛 is literally the combination of aho アホ, "stupid," a word like baka 馬鹿, and the word ke 毛, which means "hair." So, in a sense, ahoge means "stupid hair" or "idiot hair."
Beware that ahoge implies the hair is stupid because it doesn't behave, not that the person whose the hair pertains is stupid. So just because a character has ahoge doesn't mean he's an aho himself.
In any case, ahoge has become a popular trend and characteristic, so modern anime usually make the ahoge extremely obvious and easy to notice.
Though the classic shape for the ahoge is single-strand (ippon 1本), there are also ahoge with 2-strands (ni-hon 2本) and 3-strands (sanbon 3本). In particular, the 2-strand ahoge is also called "antenna hair," or shokkaku 触角, because of how it looks like an insect's antenna.
Usually, ke 毛 is just ke and it refers to any kind of hair. If you wanted to be more specific, kami no ke 髪の毛 would refer to the "hairs of the head." The word kami 髪 is a more normal way to refer to the "hair," the one on your head. Likewise, mayu 眉 means "eyebrows" but mayuge 眉毛 refers to the "hair of the eyebrows."
(part of Meanings of Anime Words)
Well, ahoge アホ毛 is literally the combination of aho アホ, "stupid," a word like baka 馬鹿, and the word ke 毛, which means "hair." So, in a sense, ahoge means "stupid hair" or "idiot hair."
Beware that ahoge implies the hair is stupid because it doesn't behave, not that the person whose the hair pertains is stupid. So just because a character has ahoge doesn't mean he's an aho himself.
What It Looks Like
The classic ahoge found in anime looks like a single strand of hair springing upwards from the character's head. Length and thickness vary depending on style. Some are slightly curved and stand still, others bend with gravity and fall down to the forehead, others are ridiculously warped and can even defy gravity itself.In any case, ahoge has become a popular trend and characteristic, so modern anime usually make the ahoge extremely obvious and easy to notice.
Though the classic shape for the ahoge is single-strand (ippon 1本), there are also ahoge with 2-strands (ni-hon 2本) and 3-strands (sanbon 3本). In particular, the 2-strand ahoge is also called "antenna hair," or shokkaku 触角, because of how it looks like an insect's antenna.
Ge 毛
In case you didn't notice, "hair" is ke 毛 but ahoge has a ge 毛 instead. This happens because the pronunciation of a kanji change according to the syllables preceding it in a word to make it easier to pronounce.Usually, ke 毛 is just ke and it refers to any kind of hair. If you wanted to be more specific, kami no ke 髪の毛 would refer to the "hairs of the head." The word kami 髪 is a more normal way to refer to the "hair," the one on your head. Likewise, mayu 眉 means "eyebrows" but mayuge 眉毛 refers to the "hair of the eyebrows."