白馬の王子様
hakuba no ōjisama
白馬の王子様 (hakuba no ōjisama) is the Japanese way to say prince charming.
This phrase is commonly used in romantic contexts to describe a man who arrives to rescue or sweep a woman off her feet.
Meaning: romantically ideal man (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to 'prince of/on a white horse'.
How do you pronounce it?
hakuba no ōjisama
Did you know?
- While 白馬の王子様 is the ideal, the slang term 王子様系 describes a specific fashion subculture for men who dress and behave with an exaggerated, polished gentleness.
- The imagery of a prince on a white horse is a Western import and does not appear in traditional Japanese folklore or ancient myths.
- While the phrase sounds like a fairy tale, it is often used with a hint of sarcasm or irony in Japanese media to describe men who are unrealistically perfect or 'too good to be true'.
Examples in context
- 彼は私の理想の恋人です。He is my Prince Charming.
- 彼はすごくイケメンで、まさに王子様です。He is extremely good-looking, he's practically Prince Charming.
- 彼女は白馬の王子様を待っている。Kanojo wa hakuba no oujisama o matte iru.She is waiting for her prince charming.
- 白馬の王子様が現れるなんて、夢みたいだ。Hakuba no oujisama ga arawareru nante, yume mitai da.It's like a dream, for a prince charming to appear.
- 現実は白馬の王子様なんていない。Genjitsu wa hakuba no oujisama nante inai.In reality, there is no such thing as a prince charming.
Example conversation
Misaki and Hiroto are talking about their ideal partners.
- 大翔 Hiroto美咲はどんな人がタイプなの？Misaki wa donna hito ga taipu nano?Misaki, what is your type?
- 美咲 Misakiやっぱり白馬の王子様みたいな人がいいな。Yappari hakuma no ouji-sama mitai na hito ga ii na.I still want someone like a prince charming.
- 大翔 Hirotoそれは理想が高すぎるよ。Sore wa risou ga takasugiru yo.That's too high of an ideal.
- 美咲 Misaki大翔にはわかんないと思う！Hiroto ni wa wakannai to omou!I don't think you would understand, Hiroto!
