Do the Japanese actually use the word "Hentai" to mean "Anime Porn", like in English?


The English word "Hentai" likely came from 4chan. Thus, like a lot of Japanese
loanwords that come from 4chan, I have to ask whether the Japanese actually
use the word to mean "Anime porn" like in English.

If it isn't, or if a different word is more often used, could someone share
what that word is? The Japanese people I communicate with always find my use
of it confusing or wrong.




No, _hentai_ is [a typical
"英製和語"](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/18544/5010) that has gained a
totally different meaning outside of Japan. It never means anime porn in
Japan.

Wikipedia defines _hentai_ as "catch-all term to describe a genre of anime and
manga pornography." In Japanese, this idea is well described by a slang word
二次元【にじげん】 (lit "two dimension"). The opposing idea is of course 三次元【さんじげん】
("three dimension", live-action ones or sometimes real people). They are often
contracted to 二次 (lit "secondary")/三次 (lit "tertiary"). 18禁 is too broad and
エロアニメ/エロ漫画 are too specific.

Most Japanese 二次元 fans understand these [ateji
argots](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/44255/5010): 虹 (lit "rainbow")
for 二次元 and 惨事 (lit "disaster") for 三次元. Yeah, posting a 三次元 image to a
certain type of image board is certainly disastrous to the users :)

**EDIT:** Oops, I should've mentioned that 二次元/三次元 by themselves do not
necessarily refer to X-rated ones, while it's hard to imagine a 二次元 fan who
dislikes 二次元 porn. [二次元コスパ](http://nijigencospa.com/) does not sell X-rated
goods, for example.




No, _hentai_ is [a typical
"英製和語"](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/18544/5010) that has gained a
totally different meaning outside of Japan. It never means anime porn in
Japan.

Wikipedia defines _hentai_ as "catch-all term to describe a genre of anime and
manga pornography." In Japanese, this idea is well described by a slang word
二次元【にじげん】 (lit "two dimension"). The opposing idea is of course 三次元【さんじげん】
("three dimension", live-action ones or sometimes real people). They are often
contracted to 二次 (lit "secondary")/三次 (lit "tertiary"). 18禁 is too broad and
エロアニメ/エロ漫画 are too specific.

Most Japanese 二次元 fans understand these [ateji
argots](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/44255/5010): 虹 (lit "rainbow")
for 二次元 and 惨事 (lit "disaster") for 三次元. Yeah, posting a 三次元 image to a
certain type of image board is certainly disastrous to the users :)

**EDIT:** Oops, I should've mentioned that 二次元/三次元 by themselves do not
necessarily refer to X-rated ones, while it's hard to imagine a 二次元 fan who
dislikes 二次元 porn. [二次元コスパ](http://nijigencospa.com/) does not sell X-rated
goods, for example.

