白目
shirome
The Japanese phrase for side eye is 白目, known as shirome.
What does it mean word for word?
The term literally means 'white of the eye'.
How do you pronounce it?
shirome
Did you know?
- While 白目 means 'side eye' in a social context, it is also used to describe the physical state of rolling one's eyes back during a faint or an orgasm.
- In Japanese manga and anime, the 白目 expression is often drawn as completely white circles to signal that a character has suffered a total mental breakdown or shock.
- If you are scrolling through Japanese social media and see someone post only 白目, they are likely expressing a state of being 'speechless' or 'done' with a situation rather than literally describing their eyes.
Example conversation
Yota and Yui are talking about a strange person they saw.
- 陽太 Yotaあの人の行動、変だったね。ano hito no koudou, hen datta ne.That person's behavior was weird, right?
- 結衣 Yuiうん、私も白目で見てたよ。un, watashi mo shirome de miteta yo.Yeah, I was giving them side eye too.
- 陽太 Yotaやっぱりみんなそう思うよね。yappari minna sou omou yo ne.I figured everyone felt that way.
- 結衣 Yui本当に信じられないよ。hontou ni shinjirarenai yo.I really can't believe it.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 白目, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
