What exactly does a otaku mean? Different people have different definitions

The term "otaku" is definitely related to "宅", which generally refers to a house, that is, a person who stays at home for a long time without going out and does not have any social behavior. However, in the new era, the definition of otaku seems to have a new standard. Today, I will introduce what otaku means from different angles.

For the general public

The general public usually understands "宅" as an adjective or verb as staying at home, and the so-called "宅男" is a general and vague concept, which refers to a wide range. The more common judgment standard is that they stay at home for a long time, but rarely interact with people face to face, and seem to have a small social circle, or are unemployed and unemployed, or have a job but rarely go out after work, and some home-based workers (such as those who open online stores at home) are all classified as this type by the general public. The otaku group is quite disgusted by this, and often calls the "宅男" (especially those who call themselves) "假宅".

For otaku

For those who understand the meaning of "otaku", the adjective "宅" is usually regarded as a simplification of "御宅". They often use "宅男", "宅女", "阿宅" or the word "宅" alone and its derivatives (such as "宅舞") to refer to things related to otaku culture, which is especially common in the otaku circle in mainland China. Otaku is usually used to refer to a group of people who are keen on and proficient in the otaku culture system based on ACGN (animation, comics, games, and novels), especially Japanese ACGN. It can also refer to a group of people who are keen on and proficient in a certain subculture.

Concept difference

Generally speaking, the term "otaku" refers to people who rarely go out, and usually includes the so-called "shut-in", "NEET", "lazy man", "home office worker", and "house man". The term "otaku" used by otaku is an abbreviation of the word "otaku", which refers to the level of ideas and concepts. In simple terms, it means that people are extremely fond of a certain field and have in-depth research because of their hobbies, which has nothing to do with whether they go out. Obviously, people who like something and have studied it do not necessarily go out less (such as railway otaku who take pictures of trains everywhere). People who stay at home and do not go out do not necessarily have a hobby, but usually psychological barriers are the reason for not going out.