What is the actual meaning of "denpa"?


After watching a lot of "Ryuusei no Rockman", I've come to know the word
"denpa" as meaning "wave", or "EM wave". Though I have heard it used in
Katekyo Hitman Reborn as well. Is the rough translation of "wave" accurate?




Japanese is a highly contextual language. Often times common words have
uncommon alternate meanings. It's best if you cite examples for your _Reborn_
context.

In the case of _Megaman StarForce_ , it is what it literally means. 電波
literally means "electromagnetic/radio waves." The former character 電 means
electricity. The latter character 波, means wave, as in billows upon some
medium.

電波 has some slang usage as well; by itself it can be used to describe nonsense
or something pointless, in other words, noise.

電波系 (denpa-kei) can be used to describe someone crazy, typically one with
irregular or wild fantasies or delusions, such as hearing voices. This may
have some bearing on your _Reborn_ question, but without sufficient context,
it's hard to tell.




Japanese is a highly contextual language. Often times common words have
uncommon alternate meanings. It's best if you cite examples for your _Reborn_
context.

In the case of _Megaman StarForce_ , it is what it literally means. 電波
literally means "electromagnetic/radio waves." The former character 電 means
electricity. The latter character 波, means wave, as in billows upon some
medium.

電波 has some slang usage as well; by itself it can be used to describe nonsense
or something pointless, in other words, noise.

電波系 (denpa-kei) can be used to describe someone crazy, typically one with
irregular or wild fantasies or delusions, such as hearing voices. This may
have some bearing on your _Reborn_ question, but without sufficient context,
it's hard to tell.

