Real Meanings of “Hentai” in Japanese

General Meaning of Hentai in Japanese

In Japanese, 変態 (hentai) generally means “a pervert; people who have an abnormal sexual interest; people who are always preoccupied with sexual thoughts”. It’s also used to describe things, such as 変態な趣味しゅみ (“hentai na shumi”) meaning “an abnormal hobby” and 変態なフェチ (“hentai na fechi”) meaning “abnormal fetish”. If you want to emphasise more, you can say “ド変態 (dohentai)”, as in “彼かれはド変態だ” meaning “He is a f*cking pervert”.

As you’d probably know, hentai has another meaning in English, but it is not commonly used in Japanese and hence is not well known among Japanese people (except for those who have a penchant for it). 

Slang Meaning of Hentai

Interestingly enough, hentai can also describe something unbelievable and exceptional in **certain** contexts. In particular, it is often used to indicate a miraculous play or technique (in a video game or sports) that is inimitable for ordinary people. For instance, 変態ゴール (“hentai goal”) means “an unbelievable/miraculous goal” and 変態バッティング (“hentai batting”) means “exceptional batting (in baseball)”.

Moreover, when used as “変態的 (hentai teki)”, “hentai” can be also used to describe people positively. For instance, 変態的へんたいてきに面白おもしろい and 変態的に頭あたまが良いい mean “exceptionally funny” and “exceptionally intelligent”, respectively. However, this usage is very slang and hence acceptable only in specific contexts/occasions (well, apparently not in a job interview).

Academic Meaning of Hentai

This may sound quite bizarre, but 変態 (hentai) also means “metamorphosis” in a formal or academic context, as in “昆虫こんちゅうの変態” meaning “metamorphosis of insects”. Funnily, there are also interesting terms called 完全かんぜん変態 (kanzen hentai, “complete hentai”) and 不完全ふかんぜん変態 (fukanzen hentai, “incomplete hentai”), which mean “complete metamorphosis” and “incomplete metamorphosis”, respectively (NOT “a perfect/imperfect pervert”!!!)

Meaning of “H” (えっち, Ecchi) in Japanese

In Japanese, エッチ/えっち (“ecchi”: the Japanese pronunciation of “H”) means “(something/someone is) sexual or erotic” (or the sexual act itself) in a playful way. This definition of “H” is said to originate from the initial letter of “hentai”.

For instance, エッチな動画 means “a sexy/porn video”, and エッチする means “to sleep with someone”. If you have seen the classic Japanese anime “ドラえもん (Doraemon)”, you may have heard Shizuka-chan shouting “のび太たさんのエッチ！” (“Nobita-san no ecchi!”), meaning “Nobita-san, you such a hentai!” when Nobita “accidentally” enters her shower room using “Anywhere Door” and sees her bathing.

Kanjis of Hentai

変態 consists of the two kanji characters “変へん” meaning “strange” or “change” and “態たい“, which describes the state of something/someone, as in “態度たいど” meaning “attitude” and “状態じょうたい” meaning “condition”. Therefore, it means “a pervert” (“a strange existence/being”) or “metamorphosis” (“change of state”).

Example Sentences

(1)
この辺へんで自分じぶんのモノを見みせつけてくる変態がたまに出るらしいから気きを付つけろ
I’ve heard that a hentai (pervert) who shows off his thing appears around here sometimes, so be careful.

(2)
俺おれの変態プレイが理由りゆうで彼女かのじょにふられた
I got dumped by my girlfriend because of my hentai (sexually abnormal) play.

(3)
メッシの変態股また抜ぬきが多くのサッカーファンを魅み了りょうした
Messi’s hentai (dope) nutmeg fascinated loads of football fans.

(4)
A: 田中たなかって１６歳で大学だいがくを卒業したらしい。
B: まじかよ、変態だな
A： I’ve heard that Tanaka graduated from university when he was 16.
B： Sh*t, he is hentai (f*cking genius)

You may also like

Kenja Time: What “sage time” means in Japnese Slang

Japanese Slang 賢者タイム (Kenja Time): Meaning & Example Sentences