萌え

Japanese

Kanji in this term
萌
も Jinmeiyō
kun’yomi

Etymology

The 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 萌える (moeru, “to bud, sprout; be aroused”).

The "feelings of affection towards a fictional character" sense likely first appeared in the early 1990s.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) もえ [mòé] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [mo̞e̞]

• (file)

Noun

萌(も)え • (moe) 

1. budding, sprouting
2. (anime, manga slang) moe: feelings of affection towards a fictional character

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 萌(も)え萌(も)え (moemoe)
• 萌(も)え車(しゃ) (moesha)
• 萌(も)え袖(そで) (moesode)
• 萌(も)え年賀状(ねんがじょう) (moe nengajō)
• 萌(も)え豚(ぶた) (moebuta)
• 萌(も)え要素(ようそ) (moe yōso)
• ギャップ萌(も)え (gyappu moe)
• 工場(こうじょう)萌(も)え (kōjō moe)

Descendants

• → Chinese:
  • Mandarin: 萌 (méng, “moe”)
• → English: moe, moé
• → Korean: 모에 (mo'e, “moe”)

See also

• 尊(とうと)い (tōtoi)

Verb

萌(も)え • (moe) 

1. imperfective and stem (or continuative) forms of 萌える (moeru) [ichidan]: budding, sprouting