By: Quinlan Tran

I’m sure most of us have heard the word otaku before. Whether it was from watching an anime or you somehow got called it back in high school or middle school… for some odd reason. Regardless whether or not you have heard of the word Otaku, what does it mean? Otaku means somebody who is extremely knowledgeable, skillful, or enthusiastic about anime, games, or manga/comic who doesn’t often go outside to have fun and prefers staying indoors staring at a screen. Essentially otaku is a way of calling someone a nerd or geek. It’s an insult. Simple as that, but how did it come to China? Are the meanings of zhai and otaku the same or different? That is what we are going to find out today so let’s go!

Otaku becoming Zhai

How did the slang otaku come into China? Well it began all the way in 1970 when a Japanese anime first appeared in China called “The Dragon Boy.” In 1980, this anime would later be aired in Hong Kong under a different name called “Astro Boy” being broadcasted on mainland China’s CCTV. During this time the main audience of anime were children and teenagers and when they perceived Astro Boy, they found it to be extremely enjoyable to watch and Astro boy became popular amongst the new generation.

Picture of the anime Astro Boy

The exposure to Astro Boy began the otaku culture in China. Astro Boy led to the import of Japanese otaku related goods such as Japanese video games, mangas, and new animes that are similar to Astro Boy. The popularity of Astro Boy led to the audience who were the first to be exposed to be known as the Zhai generation with the phrase 我很宅 (wo hen zhai; I’m so otaku) to become extremely popular. Thus Astro Boy created the Zhai generation.

Zhai and Otaku’s Literal Meaning and Modern Meaning

Picture of the character zhai

Zhai comes from the Japanese kanji “お宅” which means your house and the kanji taku is a direct translation to the character Chinese people know as zhai. Zhai’s direct translation in Chinese also means house. The usage of it was meant as an honorific and polite way of saying your home, in a way to compliment someone.

Otaku would later have a change in meaning when humorist Akio Nakamori used it to define people engrossed in Japanese pop culture, being used in a negative connotation. This usage started to become popular in the 1980s bringing life to the new slang.

Since Zhai and Otaku were written the same way, Chinese people started to connect Zhai with the slang Otaku rather than house which led to Zhai meaning what the slang means showing that both Zhai and Otaku are perceived the same way in their respective countries.

Perception of Otaku in China vs Japan

In Japan, otaku was seen as an insult. It was essentially used to describe someone who looks like a nerd. If they were skinny, frail, wore glasses, and had disheveled hair they’d be called an otaku whether they were engrossed in digital media or not. This led to a lot of young Japanese teenagers and children not wanting to be called an otaku due to its negative connotation which would lead to them being bullied in school or public with people around their age.

However, in China zhai became so popularized that it essentially defined a new generation of people known as the Zhai generation. These people were enthusiast of Japanese digital media and pop culture, leading to the import of Japanese goods to China catering to the generation of young Chinese citizens. Going back to Otaku becoming Zhai, the teenagers and children were so proud they would literally call themselves an otaku by saying “wo hen zhai.”The effect of otaku in China and Japan was day and night with Chinese people wanting to be called a zhai because everyone loved the content and media they were being fed wanting to be known as a zhai, while in Japan people would get harassed due to the negative connotation where otaku was used as an insult.

Zhai Today

Although Zhai had a positive connotation in China, it would later turn to become like otaku in Japan. Zhai would fall to have a negative connotation as people who were considered zhai would be stereotyped as a person who stays at home all day with 0 social life. This led to zhais being seen as people who have an unhealthy antisocial lifestyle making it difficult for them to have a normal social life in school. These stereotypes became a thing because since otakus don’t move around and only eat, sleep, and do otaku related activities, if their physical trait looks obese/overweight and they seem shy or timid people assume they’re a zhai.

As new anime came into China, these animes didn’t follow what Astro Boy was and was stereotyped as perverted due to the design of characters being… the ideal build. In an interview with Ding Xinghan, a self proclaimed Taiwanese otaku, he claims, “… on my way home from buying anime merchandise, some grammas and grandpas looked at me weirdly and commented how anime is very daring and perverted. When I heard that, I felt very self-conscious about myself,” (Ding Xinghan). With how Chinese media adopts their ideas from Japanese media, it led to a negative connotation being seen as either violent or sexual.

Although zhai is perceived the same way as otaku, the internet stays a safe haven for self proclaimed zhai to be themselves without being judged. And even if there is a negative connotation the usage of the slang has diminished. The community of zhais have become so large that there are the creations of large in person events for zhais to meet other people like themselves and be able to fully express themselves without being judged.

Picture of the annual Chinese gathering of otakus