devi: (Default)
devi ([personal profile] devi) wrote2004-04-05 12:57 am

Calling all fans of Japan

This has been bugging me all evening. Maybe one of you can help me. Isn't there a Japanese word which means 'big eyes, small mouth', and basically stands for their whole concept of cute? And what is it?

On a not unrelated note, how come I never noticed the Hello Kitty shop in Chinatown until [livejournal.com profile] kyte pointed it out today? They practically had to drag me out again, while I babbled "awwww!" and "Engrish!" and such stuff, and tried to get Chinese shop assistants to translate the Japanese on things, embarrassing everybody involved.

[identity profile] casca-2u.livejournal.com 2004-04-04 06:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not Japanese speaking, but I have heard that Kawai = cute; but I haven't heard about the association with big eyes or small mouth... This site is also useful and fun! http://physics.uwyo.edu/~brent/jal/jal-w5.htm