Pronunciation
Definition
かぶれる (kabureru) indicates that one’s thoughts become overly influenced by new ideas or cultures. It usually contains a negative connotation that one is largely affected by new things without knowing much about them. This word is often used to indicate those who are influenced by a foreign culture, and they are called “〇〇かぶれ”, where 〇〇 denotes the country or place that has changed their thoughts dramatically. For instance, “アメリカかぶれ (America かぶれ)” indicates “American-phile”, those who are overly influenced by the American culture. Although not used among Japanese people, you can also say “日本かぶれ (Japan かぶれ)” to indicate a “weaboo”, a person who is obsessed with Japanese culture.
Examples of アメリカかぶれ
For a clearer understanding, here are some stereotypical examples of the behavior of people who かぶれる (get overly affected) by the U.S:
- state their favorable opinions of the U,S. that are overly generalised, like “People in the U.S are very positive and enjoy their life, but people in our country are too depressed!”, and “American men are very cool and kind. I can’t date with boys in my country anymore”
- try to show off their poor English skills and use English vocabulary instead of their native tongue
- always follow the latest trends in the U.S. and disparage their home country for being old-fashioned
and so on.
Usually, pretentious people かぶれる by a foreign culture after they live in the country for a short period of time, like less than one year.
Example Sentences
Ex1:
あいつ留学行ってからめっちゃかぶれてるよね
He is really かぶれてる (affected by a foreign culture) after he studied abroad.
Ex2:
牛肉を食べるやつは西洋かぶれだ
People who eat beef are 西洋かぶれ (overly affected by western cultures, western-phile).
(notes): This is a once widely accepted thought in Japan at the beginning of Meiji era, 1800s.
Synonyms: None
Synonyms in English: be obsessed, be influenced, fanboy, ~phile
Related words and phrases: かぶれ
I don’t think that this is really equivalent to “-phile”, which is a completely neutral suffix, having no connotation of excess.
Thanks for your comment! I thought it’d be a negative term because of the word ‘paedophile’.