Abstract
The word “kawaii” is ubiquitous in contemporary Japan and has spread
to the rest of the world with the dissemination of Japanese pop culture.
Although the word is conventionally translated in English as “cute,”
its meaning is more nuanced than “cute,” and it is used for a wider
variety of objects. The primary aim of this study was to determine if
Spanish has an equivalent to the word “kawaii”; additionally, the
similarities and differences across Japanese, English, and Spanish were
explored. An internet survey was conducted in which respondents from
Japan (n = 486), the United States (n = 365), and
Argentina (n = 303) were presented with various photographic
images that were often described as “kawaii” in Japanese and asked to
write three adjectives to describe the images. They were also instructed
to rate their affective states when looking at each image in the valence
and arousal dimensions. The results showed that babyish objects (e.g.,
human, animal, and toy) were most frequently defined as “kawaii” in
Japanese, “cute” in English, and “tierno” in Spanish. The average
frequency at which these words were used as primary adjectives was
higher for “kawaii” (57.5%) than for “cute” (26.8%) or “tierno”
(22.4%). Other images for which “kawaii” was used, such as whimsical
things and pastel-colored sweets, were less likely to be described as
“cute” or “tierno,” although all of these images were associated
with positive and moderately-aroused affective states similarly across
all three countries. The present study demonstrates that the adjectives
“kawaii,” “cute,” and “tierno” can be used almost equivalently for
describing babies and pets, but that the Japanese adjective “kawaii”
encompasses wider categories than the other twowords.