Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shoujo ai

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.26 in modern English

Syllables
shou-jo ai
IPA
18
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Anime and manga that explore emotional, but largely platonic, homoerotic relationships between women.

Uncountable

noun

A genre of manga, anime, or hentai featuring lesbian sex and romance; yuri.

Slang; Uncountable

noun

Lolicon.

Slang; Uncountable

Etymology

Two connected etymologies. Either interpreted as a calque of Japanese 少女愛 (shōjo ai), or a specialized neologism created in analogy to shounen ai (Japanese 少年愛(しょうねんあい) (shōnen'ai)) using Japanese vocabulary.

Usage

Phrases

shounen ai

Frequently Paired Words

lolicon shounen ai yaoi yuri

Questions

What does shoujo ai mean?
Anime and manga that explore emotional, but largely platonic, homoerotic relationships between women.
Where does shoujo ai come from?
Two connected etymologies. Either interpreted as a calque of Japanese 少女愛 (shōjo ai), or a specialized neologism created in analogy to shounen ai (Japanese 少年愛(しょうねんあい) (shōnen'ai)) using Japanese vocabulary.

How to pronounce shoujo ai

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “shoujo ai”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “shoujo ai”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “shoujo ai” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.