Saying かわいい to a guy


I have two questions about the famous k word in japanese.

  1. I have seen this conversation between a guy and a girl and was a little bit puzzled by the girl's answer:

> Guy : xxx-ちゃんはかわいいです
>
> Girl : xxx-さんほどではありません

Is it common for a girl to call a guy 「かわいい」? Is the guy supposed to be
flattered or is it some kind of teasing?

  2. Do guys usually use the word 「かわいい」 or is it exclusively used by girls?




It is totally fine to use `かわいい` to male, especially boys (10s and 20s).

In general, boys who tend to be seen as `かわいい` are those who have bigger eyes,
double eyelids, clear, lighter skin, little or no beard, non-short hair style,
are thin, and/or fashionable.

You can get to see example usages on male actors. Insert whatever actors you
deem pretty with `かわいい` in Twitter search box. The example below is from
[岡田将生, a famous male
actor](https://twitter.com/search?q=%E5%B2%A1%E7%94%B0%E5%B0%86%E7%94%9F%20%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8F%E3%81%84%E3%81%84&src=typd).

  * 岡田将生くん かわいいって毎日言ってるけど、ほんまかわいい（定期）癒される  
無理なく俳優活動頑張って欲しいな…  
無理なくね！体調とか崩して欲しくない

-- 昴 (@ka0_11)
[2017年5月7日](https://twitter.com/ka0_11/status/861026294141640704)

  * 岡田将生と綾野剛の泣き顔がかわいすぎる。。  
フランケンシュタインのCMで泣いてる綾野くんを見て思った  
まさきは、まぁ、見なくてもかわいいの想像できるね(やばい)

-- HANA (@HANA59386040)
[2017年5月6日](https://twitter.com/HANA59386040/status/860865527102689284)

  * 岡田将生がかっこつけて刑事役してるのちょーかわいい。

-- ソー (@so_matsusita)
[2017年5月7日](https://twitter.com/so_matsusita/status/861194357352812544)

Boys might also say `かわいい` to other boys, though it is far rarer than girls
saying it to boys. I feel that if a boy says `かわいい` to a boy, it is usually
referring to himself as a sort of joking or teasing.

* * *

Moreover, in some cases middle-aged men might get `かわいい` here or there for his
behaviors. In this case, the equivalent English meaning should be more like
`pleasant` or `charming` than `cute` or `pretty`. The examples:

  * お父さんってたまにかわいいところがあるよね．弁当自分で作ったのに忘れていったり．

  * さっき乗った電車，車掌さんが言い間違いしたのに必死でごまかそうとして可愛かった．

You rarely see any cases that people say `かわいい` to middle-aged men for his
appearances, though.




Firstly ,if that girl is talking about a guy, this example sounds strange.

But, if she was talking about another girl than it would sound fine.

eg,

> 男の人：さゆりちゃんはかわいいです。
>
> 女の人：花子{はなこ}さんほどではありません。

And sometimes this can happen, where the guy could be saying to the girl that
he is talking to is "cute", but in the below situation the girl defers the
complement using what is
called「謙遜{けんそん}」[humility](http://japanesefile.com/Nouns/kenson_9.html). Most
situations like this people will not take the complement directly like it
might be in western cultures where the person may say "Thank you" to the
compliment

> なおき：さゆりちゃんはかわいいです。
>
> さゆり：花子{はなこ}さんほどではありません。

To answer the **first question** , unless you (male or female) are talking
about a child (boy) where you might say the child is 「かわいい」or 「かわいらしい」 than
there are very few cases where someone would refer to a man as 「かわいい」

**Second question** , it is perfectly fine for males to use the word 「かわいい」in
everyday conversation, but like I said before, not towards another male, that
just sounds weird.

