Slang dictionary
weeb
[weeb]
What does weeb mean?
A weeb is a derisive term for a non-Japanese person who is so obsessed with Japanese culture that they wish they were actually Japanese.
Where does weeb come from?
Weeb is a short form of weeaboo, a term first used by users of 4chan to insult obsessive fans of Japanese culture. A nonsense word, weeaboo has been used since the early 2000s, almost as long as 4chan itself has existed. The shortened weeb, however, doesn’t seem to have become popular until the early 2010s. Weeb first appears on Twitter in 2010, Urban Dictionary in 2011, and on 4chan’s archives in 2012.
Weeaboos gonna weeb
— Thewhoracle424.TV (@thewhoracle424) September 5, 2010
As for Google search interest, weeb takes off in 2011 and overtakes weeaboo in 2018. Weeaboo/weeb are used to describe so-called “wannabe Japanese.” On 4chan, the two words are used as insults against Westerners who are obsessed with Japanese culture to an irritating degree.
Typical weeaboo/weeb behavior includes using Japanese words and phrases in everyday speech, declaring Japanese culture to be superior to one’s own, spending large amounts of money on anime and manga, and collecting more unusual Japan-made products like idol figures and body pillows.
Once I go full weeb and start tweeting in Japanese it’s over for yall fuckin normies
— tœfü (@sleepybitchclub) September 12, 2018
Examples of weeb
The REAL Bullet Club would give Kenny Omega a swirly while calling him a weeb
Who uses weeb?
Weeb remains very popular on 4chan. Archive sites list over 100,000 uses of the word on 4chan in 2018 alone.
4chan
Weeb has also become popular outside of 4chan. Whereas on 4chan weeb is meant as a harsh insult, it is usually used jokingly on other social media sites to describe someone as an ardent fan of Japanese culture. Some people even proudly self-identify as weebs.
my bf is such a weeb pic.twitter.com/DAJBYHHMzK
— discount boa hancock (@SANAMlS) December 14, 2018
I am a WEEB and I am proud
— erin • ia (@itadaki_matsu) December 22, 2018
Have I mentioned that I am a weeb and that I love Miku very much? pic.twitter.com/0L9m1FPEbb
— 💎K A S S H O E S💎 (@Kasshews) December 21, 2018
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of weeb like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of weeb that will help our users expand their word mastery.