Weeb
A non-Japanese person obsessed with Japanese pop culture
Example
She's a total weeb, but her taste in anime is fantastic. I've watched a bunch with her
Related Slang
Baka | Fool |
Sussy baka | Suspicious fool |
Chibi | Miniature Character |
JRPG | Japanese role-playing game |
MHA | My Hero Academia |
DBZ | Dragon Ball Z |
Waifu | A fictional female that a real person has a crush on |
Husbando | A fictional man that a real person has a crush on |
Cosplay | Costume play |
Fan service | Indulging fans' desires |
Weebs are non-Japanese superfans of anime, manga, Japanese video games, and other articles of Japanese pop culture. This slang term is an abbreviation of weeaboo - a term that originated on 4chan.
The origin of weeb
In the 1980s and 90s, anime became popular in the United States and other Western countries. As the Internet became more accessible, Western anime superfans took to message boards and forums to share their love of their favorite shows. Some of these fans were so obsessed with anime and Japanese culture as a whole that others began calling them Wapanese (short for "white Japanese" or "wannabe Japanese").
Eventually, calling someone Wapanese became regarded as an incredibly derogatory insult. In response, the popular forum 4chan applied a moderation rule that replaced all uses of Wapanese with weeabo - a nonsense word taken from the webcomic The Perry Bible Fellowship. Over time, 4chan users and others shortened weeabo to weeb.
Wait ... should I call someone a weeb then?
Since 2011, weeb's meaning and connotation has softened to include any anime and manga superfan - not just those overly-obsessed with Japanese culture. As such, it is no longer a derogatory term. Many anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture aficionados now self-identify as weebs.