ギャル

Japanese

 ギャル on Japanese Wikipedia

 Gyaru on Wikipedia

ギャル (gyaru): two gyaru in Tokyo.

Etymology

Borrowed from American English gal.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Compare the English pronunciation spelling gyal. Doublet of ガール (gāru).

First cited to a text from 1931, although rarely used until the late Shōwa period.^[1] Popularised during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, originally to refer to ボディコン (bodikon, “body conscious”), an earlier style trend and the predecessor of today’s gyaru.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ギャル [gyáꜜrù] (Atamadaka – [1])^[4][5]
• IPA^(key): [ɡʲa̠ɾɯ̟]

Noun

ギャル • (gyaru) 

1. a girl or young woman
2. gyaru
3. (dated) bodycon

Derived terms

• コギャル (kogyaru, “kogal”)
• ギャルゲーム (gyarugēmu)
  • ギャルゲー (gyarugē)

Descendants

• → English: gyaru

See also

• ガール (gāru, “girl”)

References

1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
2. Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
3. Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
4. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
5. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN