A magical word かわいい has changed some stereotypes.

PUBLIC_FLAG_#{@journal.pf_int} RSS feed of Snoopy's latest journal entries May 19th 2010 01:21 japan situation new words
In Japan, かわいい is frequently used in various situations. It means cute, pretty, adorable and so on. Actually, the word is so ambiguous that I cannot clearly define it.

Culturally, being かわいい has been an important element for women to attract men in Japan. It represents not only appearance but also character. The adjective is sometimes used to describe reserved women. Some men use it to describe immature or less smart women in a positive way. I think this is because men still tend to prefer women who want to depend on men or often need men's help, although more men like independent and smart women than before, and then are willing to have a give-and-take or fifty-fifty relationship with these women.

All in all, かわいい usually conveys positive images and nuances. By taking advantage of it, new words by using かわいい, such as エロかわいいand 大人かわいい, were coined and successfully used to introduce new concepts to fascinate women especially in the fashion business. 

Here, with the economic development, people have become a flexible attitude toward life and seemingly accept various lifestyles. However, since the society and people sometimes stick with conventional ideas and stereotypes, some people feel uncomfortable and have to struggle with them. In fact, I often hear that you should or shouldn't do something because of your age or gender. Under these circumstances, these new words seem to help you be free from some conventional ideas. As a matter of fact, the popularity of them has changed some stereotypes.

I'll talk about popular new words by using かわいい-- エロかわいい and 大人かわいい-- in my next entry.
May 19th 2010 03:29 Dan

  • A magical word かわいい has changed some stereotypes.
  • The magical word "かわいい" has changed some stereotypes. 

 

  • The adjective is sometimes used to describe deserved women.
  • The adjective is sometimes used to describe deserved desired women.

 

  • Some men use it to describe immature or less smart women in a positive way.
  • Some men use it to describe immature or less smart intelligent women in a positive way.

 
May 19th 2010 03:36 *恵羅*

  • A magical word かわいい has changed some stereotypes.
  • The magical word かわいい has changed some stereotypes.(かわいいって主語なんですから、Theの方がいいと思います。)

1 people think this correction is good.  

  • In Japan, かわいい is frequently used in various situations.
  • In Japan, かわいい is frequently used in various situations.(Variousで「かわいいって日本人はよく使う言葉です」という意味が分かるので、Frequentlyって要らないと思います。)

 

  • Actually, the word is so ambiguous that I cannot clearly define it.
  • Actually, the word is so ambiguous that I cannot clearly define it.(Ambiguousってすごいなぁ!よく使いました!)

 

  • Culturally, being かわいい has been an important element for women to attract men in Japan.
  • Culturally, being かわいい has been an important element way for women to attract men in Japan.

 

  • It represents not only appearance but also character.
  • It represents not only appearance, but also character.

1 people think this correction is good.  

  • The adjective is sometimes used to describe deserved women.
  • The adjective is sometimes used to describe deserved women.(Deservedってどの意味ですか。あまり分かりません。Dependentじゃないでしょうか。)

 

  • Some men use it to describe immature or less smart women in a positive way.
  • Some men use it to describe immature or less smart ditsy women in a positive way.

 

  • I think this is because men still tend to prefer women who want to depend on men or often need men's help, although more men like independent and smart women than before, and then are willing to have a give-and-take or fifty-fifty relationship with these women.
  • I think this is because men still tend to prefer women who want to depend on men are dependent or and often need men's a man's help. although Despite this, more men like independent and smart intelligent women than before, and then are therefore willing to have a give-and-take or fifty-fifty relationship with these such women.(こんな間違えは本当に小さいです!IntelligentってSmartよりこういう作文に良い言葉だと思います。

1 people think this correction is good.  

  • By taking advantage of it, new words by using かわいい, such as エロかわいいand 大人かわいい, were coined and successfully used to introduce new concepts to fascinate women especially in the fashion business.
  • By People taking advantage of it the term, new words by using that incorporated かわいい were coined, such as エロかわいいand 大人かわいい. These were successfully used especially in the fashion business to introduce new concepts to that fascinated women.

 

  • Here, with the economic development, people have become a flexible attitude toward life and seemingly accept various lifestyles.
  • Here, with the In Japan, as a result of economic development, people have become developed a flexible attitude toward life and seemingly accept various lifestyles.

1 people think this correction is good.  

  • However, since the society and people sometimes stick with conventional ideas and stereotypes, some people feel uncomfortable and have to struggle with them.
  • However, since the society and people sometimes sticks with conventional ideas and stereotypes, some people feel uncomfortable and have to struggle with them.

1 people think this correction is good.  

  • Under these circumstances, these new words seem to help you be free from some conventional ideas.
  • Under these circumstances, these such new words seem to help you people be free from some conventional ideas.

1 people think this correction is good.  

  • As a matter of fact, the popularity of them has changed some stereotypes.
  • As a matter of fact, the popularity of them such words has changed some stereotypes.

 

  • I'll talk about popular new words by using かわいい-- エロかわいい and 大人かわいい-- in my next entry.
  • I'll talk about popular, new words by using かわいい-- エロかわいい and 大人かわいい-- in my next entry.

 
すごい!英語が上手い!本当にびっくりしました。こんなに英語が上手い日本人をこのサイトには見ていないですよ!

添削した間違えは、本当に小さいです。詳しく直してみました!

よく書けていますね!すごい
May 19th 2010 03:43 Peter

  • The adjective is sometimes used to describe deserved women.
  • The adjective is sometimes used to describe deserved women. "deserved women" doesn't make sense. Maybe "The adjective is sometimes used appropriately, to describe women who are (cute) or (whatever...)"

 

  • By taking advantage of it, new words by using かわいい, such as エロかわいいand 大人かわいい, were coined and successfully used to introduce new concepts to fascinate women especially in the fashion business.
  • By taking advantage of it, new words by using かわいい, such as エロかわいいand 大人かわいい, were coined and successfully used to introduce new concepts to fascinate women, especially in the fashion business.

 

  • Here, with the economic development, people have become a flexible attitude toward life and seemingly accept various lifestyles.
  • Here, with the economic development, people have gained a flexible attitude toward life and seemingly accept various lifestyles. "the economic development" is not quite specific enough -- perhaps "with Japan's economic success".

 

  • However, since the society and people sometimes stick with conventional ideas and stereotypes, some people feel uncomfortable and have to struggle with them.
  • However, since the society and people sometimes stick with conventional ideas and stereotypes, some people feel uncomfortable and have to struggle with them. "have to" is grammatical and okay, but it's a little more wordy than necessary. And "them" is a little ambigous, because you have a number of nouns -- society, people, ideas and stereotypes. it's okay, but it would be better if the sentence were re-worded without the indefinite pronoun.

 

  • Under these circumstances, these new words seem to help you be free from some conventional ideas.
  • Under these circumstances, new words like かわいい or エロかわいい help free from conventional norms. Your sentence is good, but mentioning the specific words instead of using an indefinite pronoun is better (as long as you don't over-repeat the specific words, which I don't think you have). Taking out the qualifiers like "seem" and "some" makes the sentence more direct, which is usually good.

 

  • As a matter of fact, the popularity of them has changed some stereotypes.
  • As a matter of fact, their popularity has changed some stereotypes.

1 people think this correction is good.  
Your English is very good, probably better than many native speakers.

And your topic is interesting and fun -- as long as you finish the story in a subsequent entry! :-)
May 19th 2010 04:32 s

  • Culturally, being かわいい has been an important element for women to attract men in Japan.
  • Culturally, being かわいい has been an important element for women in attracting men in Japan.

 

  • The adjective is sometimes used to describe deserved women.
  • The adjective is sometimes used to describe desirable women. (?)

 

  • By taking advantage of it, new words by using かわいい, such as エロかわいいand 大人かわいい, were coined and successfully used to introduce new concepts to fascinate women especially in the fashion business.
  • By Taking advantage of the popularity of the word かわいい, new words by using かわいい, such as エロかわいいand 大人かわいい have been coined and used successfully, especially in the fashion world, to introduce new concepts that appeal to women.

 
I recently heard the word ブサカワ for the first time. I got the feeling it's usually used to describe dogs and cats and other animals that are especially cute because they're sort of ugly, but I couldn't figure out if it was a good thing or a bad thing when used in reference to people.
May 19th 2010 10:41 kathrynoh

I often wonder if it is difficult for girls growing up in Japan in an environment where being かわいい is valued so much. Do girls play down their intelligence and strength? Sometimes I see some actress on Japanese tv and wonder if they are just acting dumb because it's cute or if they really are stupid.
May 19th 2010 15:49 Snoopy

★Hi everyone
Thank all of you for your help and comments.

>The adjective is sometimes used to describe deserved women

First of all, I want to talk about the sentence above. As for deserved women, I wanted to say ”控えめな"女性 in Japanese. Actually, I mistyped. I wanted to write "reserved" women, although I'm not sure if this adjective will make sense to you. Very sorry that it confused you.

In Japan, men tend to prefer to women who take reserved attitudes toward men in a positive way. Men expect women to back them in ways how others don't notice their supports etc. Sorry, I cannot explain it clearly. Can I use the word "reserved" to describe this situation?? I would be very happy if you could help me out again.
Thank you very much in advance.

★Hi Dan
Nice to meet you. はじめまして。
Thank you for reading my entry and making corrections.
I would be happy if you could come to my page again when you have time.

★Hi keira ケイラ
Nice to meet you. はじめまして。
Thank you for reading my entry. I appreciate you taking your time to make detailed corrections. It's very difficult to make my sentences sound more natural to native speakers, so your corrections are very helpful.
I would be happy if you could come to my page again when you have time.

>本当にびっくりしました。こんなに英語が上手い日本人をこのサイトには見ていないですよ!
褒めすぎです。私の英語はまだまだです。

>添削した間違えは、本当に小さいです。詳しく直してみました!
ありがとうございます。
May 19th 2010 19:02 Snoopy

Hi Peter
Nice to meet you. はじめまして。
Thank you for reading my entry and making corrections. Your detailed explanations are very helpful. Thanks. I would be happy if you could come to my page again when you have time.

> Taking out the qualifiers like "seem" and "some" makes the sentence more direct, which is usually good.
I have to pay more attention to this part. In the Japanese language, it's very common to use such words. If you don't use them, your sentences often sound unnatural. This habit has clearly affected my English.

>And your topic is interesting and fun -- as long as you finish the story in a subsequent entry! :-)
I'm glad to hear that you are interested in the topic. I'll finish up the story soon.

Hi saritza
Thanks for your help including native nods. Native nods are very helpful.

>I couldn't figure out if it was a good thing or a bad thing when used in reference to people.
I don't know it clearly, either. It fully depends on people and situations. However, when someone use ブサカワ/ブサかわいい in reference to people, I would get the feeling that he/she doesn't hate them and has a positives impression of them. Otherwise, he/she would just say ブサイク or ブス. I think that it's been popular to coin such new words:XX+かわいい

Hi kathrynoh
Thanks for your comment as always

>I often wonder if it is difficult for girls growing up in Japan in an environment where being かわいい is valued so much. Do girls play down their intelligence and strength?
In the past, I felt uncomfortable being in the environment. However, at the time, many women were willing to be かわいい. Also, girls tended to hide their intelligence and strength in front of men.

Nowadays, women who are characteristically like men are popular among women. I think many girls don't hide their intelligence and strength, although some women still pretend to be dependent or things like this to attract men. Sometimes, I'm surprised by the big differences in women's attitudes and behaviors between when they are with men and when they aren't.

>Sometimes I see some actress on Japanese tv and wonder if they are just acting dumb because it's cute or if they really are stupid.
It depends on actress. I think they are just stupid in many cases.
May 19th 2010 22:12 s

Hi Snoopy, thanks for your reply.
As for reserved/控えめ, I see what you mean, sorry. "Reserved" would make sense here, but I'm not sure if it's the word you wanted to used. I usually think of "reserved" as being more like quiet in a stand-off-ish, keeping to yourself kind of way. I don't think かわいい would be the first adjective I'd use to describe someone who is reserved, because I think of people who are reserved as being hard to approach. This might just be my personal associations with the word though. Instead, I might use "mild-mannered" or "docile" (or even "shy"?) in this instance.
May 19th 2010 22:13 s

"I'm not sure if it's the word you wanted to used"-->
"I'm not sure if it's the word you wanted to use"
Oops! Sorry about that
May 20th 2010 03:17 Peter

Hi, Snoopy! はじめまして。 It's nice to meet you, too.

Ah, "reserved"! Makes much more sense. :-)

I think "reserved" is a good choice. "Modest" would be good, as well.

"Demure" is very close to your meaning, and relates well to かわいい. But it is a little tricky to use -- it's used more often to describe a person's characteristics, rather than the person herself. So "her demure Southern accent" is more usual than "a demure woman".

You could also expand a little and describe what makes her reserved or modest. Something like, "the adjective is sometimes used to describe reserved women with conservative mannerisms," or "the adjective is sometimes used to describe modest women with a demure way of speaking," etc.

May 20th 2010 14:20 Snoopy

★Hi saritza
Thanks for your explanations. Also, thanks for your double check.

>I usually think of "reserved" as being more like quiet in a stand-off-ish, keeping to yourself kind of way. I think of people who are reserved as being hard to approach.

You are right. I have the same image of reserved women as you have. However, some men use かわいい to describe such women because they usually don't disagree with their boyfriends/husbands and are willing to back men.

I think that whenever people like something /someone, they use かわいい to describe them. How ambiguous this adjective is.

In my entry, it seems hard to explain a situation that I want to describe with only one adjective. I should have added some explanations.

★Hi Peter
Thanks for your explanations and suggestions.

>You could also expand a little and describe what makes her reserved or modest.
You are right. I should have added some explanations.

Thank you very much.

Journals Statistics

Latest entry

See more >>

Latest comments

See more >>

Entries by Month