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The word _Akarin_ seems related to the fact that Akari is considered as a
_transparent_ person. As an example, every time Akari becomes transparent, the
word Akarin appears.

![Akarin](https://i.stack.imgur.com/d3H7a.jpg)

What's more, Akari seems to dislike this word.

What does _Akarin_ means? What is its etymology?


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2015-10-01T07:49:14.423
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2019-08-07T05:21:51.647
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yuru-yuri
What does the word "Akarin" mean?


Akarin is made to say the name funnily or tease her. Also Kyokorin, Chinarin
exist for same reason. Putting the -n to the Japanese name is a way to make a
nickname.


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2015-10-01T09:49:01.340
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It's actually two things - one is making a diminutive (i.e. cutesy) form of
the name, but the other is turning the name into an onomatopoeia. In Himouto
Umaru-chan, there are a few things that Umaru does (mostly switching between
her "indoors" and "outdoors" personas) that are accompanied by the sound
effect "Umaru~n", basically suggesting the sound of "doing the Umaru thing".
So here, it's overlaid on top of Akari "doing the Akari thing".


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2015-10-01T23:12:05.907
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There's actually a lot to this expression, including a lot of nuance and some
understanding of each character's personality. Bear in mind, I have a pretty
pedestrian understanding of the full nuances of the Japanese language, but
I'll be happy to cite my sources where need be.

First, let's start with Yuru Yuri. Akari is made out to be the decoy
protagonist _very early on_ , and as such, the fact that she's has very little
presence is a running gag in the series. In the first episode, around 16:40 is
everyone comes to that realization (spearheaded by Kyouko).

Around this time, the nickname actually comes up, and this is the beginning of
her being _teased_ with "Akari~n!" (and turning invisible). Notice that the
first episode's intro doesn't do anything fishy with her or her visibility (in
the same way that the subsequent intros _do_ ).

Next, let's move on to normal Japanese naming convention. In Japan, it's only
considered okay to call someone by their first name if you're really close to
them. From what I've seen, nicknames are _slightly_ more relaxed, so you'll
see and hear people calling each other by their nicknames quite often in
anime. From this, it's implied that Yui, Kyouko, and Chinatsu are at least
incredibly friendly with Akari enough to call her by any sort of nickname.

Adding ん to the end of a name (and it depends on the name) invokes a cutesy,
childish sounding variant of it, and can be considered to be a cutesy sort of
nickname for the person.


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2015-10-01T23:51:52.650
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