Degrees of Otaku

Question

I've heard people described as　ぬるオタ　（ぬるいオタク） "mild otaku" as well as 超【ちょう】オタク "super otaku". My question is whether there is a sort of "general set" of these sorts of words (maybe similar to the prefixes like: super-, ultra-, mega- etc.), or whether what I have encountered is really just creative language use.

Are there some useful terms to describe a kind of "spectrum" of enthusiasm?

E.g. Low to high: ぬるオタ, （普通【ふつう】の）オタク, 超【ちょう】オタク , etc.

It has been suggested that gachi- "serious/diligent" may be on par or above chou-.

Edit: Even phenomena like "Okatu-dom" are perhaps best not described as a linear spectrum. We could theorize dimensions like (kakko ii > kimoi), (dedicated > casual), etc.

Thanks for any help!

>`gacchi` I think your friend meant 「ガチ」. There's also「キモオタ」 :D (just to add a few to the list, I don't know their exact nuances) — siikamiika, Aug 02 '17 at 02:27
@siikamiika I think you are right about *gachi*; I'll edit the question. *Kimo-ota* is also a good addition. — haksayng, Aug 02 '17 at 03:07

score 9 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 04 '17 at 01:48

There is no such thing as an established "general set" of classifying the degrees of otaku, but both ガチオタ and ヌルオタ are commonly used.

ヌル- and ガチ- can be used as prefixes to modify other nouns. ガチゲーマー refers to a hardcore gamer, and ヌルゲーマー refers to a casual gamer. Etymologically, ガチ comes from ガチンコ, which is originally sumo wrestling jargon. ヌル comes from ぬるい, an adjective meaning "tepid."

Note that ヌル has a negative connotation (i.e., "He's not ガチ enough" used by people in the ガチオタ tier). Something like ライトなオタク/ライトゲーマー would sound neutral and safe (if used in the situation where using オタク is safe, of course)

超オタク is not something people commonly use. I can safely say someone who uses 超オタク is not a Japanese otaku :)

score 3 · Answer 2 · edited Aug 03 '17 at 21:56

3

I don't know the technical jargon, but in common Japanese expressions, you can say:

Advanced

完全にオタク
ドオタク（＝ド・おたく＝the おたく＝マジ・おたく）
２００％オタク

Slight

多少オタクっぽい
オタクもどき

edited Aug 03 '17 at 21:56

siikamiika

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answered Aug 02 '17 at 23:06

1

`オタクもとき` 「もとき」は、「もどき」ですか？ – Chocolate Aug 03 '17 at 00:37
Which word does ドオタク come from? – haksayng Aug 03 '17 at 01:37
すみません。そうです。オタクもどき　です。 – Aug 03 '17 at 14:19
ドおたく＝ド・おたく＝the おたく＝マジ・おたく – Aug 03 '17 at 14:20
You mean the ド in ドおたく comes from the English "the"? – Chocolate Aug 04 '17 at 01:50
『ど真ん中のストライクを見逃し三振』のどですよ。英語のtheから来ているんじゃないと思いますよ。機能的に似ているかな、と思っただけです。 – Aug 06 '17 at 05:10

knowledge_is_power · Answer 3 · 2017-08-02T06:21:33.887

Here are some types of otaku, but as for degrees, there doesn't seem to be a general set.

Reference

アニオタ

short for アニメオタク, or anime otaku

ドルオタ

short for アイドルオタク, or idol otaku
refers to fanatic groupies of Japanese idols such as AKB48

隠れオタク or リア充オタク

hidden otaku
people who appear to be quite an outgoing person, but actually are engrossed into idol groups or anime & manga.

キモオタ

short for キモいオタク, disgusting otaku

ぬるヲタ

「ぬるヲタ」とは、「ヌルい」（未熟な事、あるいは物足りない、浅い状態）のおたくの意味です。　
言葉の概念としては、「なんちゃってオタク」（オタクのフリをしている非おたくの一般人）とか「ライトオタク」「ちょいオタ」「プチオタ」「ニワカ」などに近い言葉で、　　しばしば本人が自称する言葉となっているのが特徴です。Source

ガチオタ

お金があったら衣食住生活費より漫画、アニメ、ゲーム、映画などに充てて生活の基準が趣味優先、一般のそれと乖離してる人。
これをやってなきゃガチオタじゃないとかは言ってる人の勝手な基準であって意味がない。Source

超オタく

aka, "huge otaku", isn't really Japanese to say but can be understood.

On the other hand, the word オタク can be also used to describe people who have an enormous amount of knowledge about something.

For example, サッカーオタク means “soccer nut/buff”, and ラーメンオタク means “great ramen lover/expert”.

However, I found a Japanese Quiz that could possibly test your "type" of Otaku-ness: Quiz

Although its meaning is straightforward, I personally haven't seen 超オタ or 超オタク used by real otaku. — naruto, Aug 02 '17 at 04:19

Degrees of Otaku

3 Answers3

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