Ecchi (エッチ, etchi, pronounced [et.tɕi]) is an often used slang term in the Japanese language for playfully sexual actions. As an adjective, it is used with the meaning of sexy, dirty or naughty; as a verb, ecchi suru (エッチする), with the meaning to have sex; or as a noun, to describe someone of lascivious behavior. It is perhaps softer than the Japanese word ero (エロ from Eros), and does not imply perversion in the way hentai does.