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Yomi
しんじゃ
Rōmaji
shinja
Type
slang
Literal Meaning
a believer in a certain religion
Meaning
a fanatic fan
Synonym
ファン
Antonym
アンチ
Additional Info
Generally, 信者 means “a believer (in a certain religion)” as in 彼はキリスト教信者だ (He is a believer in Christianity).
As a slang word, it has a negative connotation (unlike the general usage) and means “a fanatic fan who blindly follows someone/something”. For instance, “Apple 信者” indicates fanatic fans of Apple who always form an endless queue to grab new Apple products. Similarly, you can use 信者 to describe a fanatic fan of someone famous, e.g. “安倍信者” to describe fanatic supporters of the (previous) Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe.
Example
ワンピース信者によると、ワンピースを読めば “人生の意味”がわかるらしい。
According to fanatic fans of ONE PIECE, you can understand the “meaning” of life by reading ONE PIECE
According to fanatic fans of ONE PIECE, you can understand the “meaning” of life by reading ONE PIECE
あのYoutuberには信者とアンチがたくさんいる。
That Youtuber has a lot of both fanatic fans and haters.
That Youtuber has a lot of both fanatic fans and haters.