コギャル

Japanese

コギャル: a kogyaru in the so-called "American casual" style.

Etymology

First appeared in the 1990s. Varied theories regarding the term's derivation.

Two possible derivations are attributed to bouncers at night clubs, as slang abbreviations to indicate a young woman who was underage and should therefore be denied entry.

• From 高校生 (kōkōsei, “high-school student”) + ギャル (gyaru, “gal, young woman”, originally referring to someone not a minor).
• From 格好 (kakkō, “appearance, seeming”) + ギャル (gyaru).

Another possible derivation is attributed to the mass media.

• From 子 (ko, “child; young; small”) + ギャル (gyaru).

The gyaru portion in all of these is a borrowing from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] English gal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ko̞ɡʲa̠ɾɯ̟]

Noun

コギャル • (kogyaru) 

1. a teenage girl participating in a particular subculture in Japan, with a tendency towards being obsessively trend-conscious, kogal (kogyaru)