おてんば
otenba
The Japanese word for "tomboy" is おてんば (otenba).
おてんば is used to describe a girl who acts like a typical boy. While it translates to "tomboy," it often carries a nuance of being spunky, naughty or mischievous rather than just having masculine interests.
Meaning: girl who acts as a typical boy would (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
おてんば functions as an adjectival noun (a na-adjective). This means you can follow it with な to modify a noun, such as おてんばな娘 (otenba na musume) to mean "a tomboyish girl."
How do you pronounce it?
otenba
Did you know?
- The term おてんば is derived from the word てんば, which originally referred to the 'edge of a board' or a 'shaking' movement, suggesting an unstable or restless nature.
- The prefix お in おてんば is an honorific, which is ironic because the word describes someone who is behaving in a rebellious or unladylike manner.
- In modern Japanese, おてんば is often seen as a nostalgic or 'classic' term, and younger generations might instead use ボクっ娘 ('bokukko') for girls who use the masculine pronoun ボク.
Examples in context
- メアリーはおてんば娘なんだ。Mary is a tomboy.Tatoeba #9700852 by small_snow, translation #1519013 by Spamster
- うちの子ったら、おてんばで。My daughter is a tomboy.Tatoeba #9946606 by bunbuku, translation #251951 by CK
- 僕が女の子だったら、おてんば娘だろうね。If I were a girl, I'd be a tomboy.Tatoeba #11199152 by small_snow, translation #10340964 by DJ_Saidez
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two children are talking about Himari's energetic personality.
- 大翔 Hiroto陽葵は小さい時からおてんばだね。Himari wa chiisai toki kara otenba da ne.Himari, you've been a tomboy since you were little.
- 陽葵 Himariそうだよ。外で遊ぶのが一番好き！Sō da yo. Soto de asobu no ga ichiban suki!That's true. I love playing outside the most!
- 大翔 Hirotoあはは、本当に元気な子だな。Ahaha, hontō ni genki na ko da na.Haha, you really are an energetic girl.
- 陽葵 Himariおてんばって言われるのは嬉しいよ！Otenba tte iwareru no wa ureshii yo!I'm happy to be called a tomboy!
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
