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Japanese

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コギャル: a kogyaru in the so-called "American casual" style
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Etymology

First appeared in the early 1990s, especially after the term’s popularisation in the 1993 Late-Night TV Special “Za kogyaru naito” (The Kogal Night), though other theories regarding the term's derivation exist.

A likely derivation is attributed to teenage girls dressing as ボディコン (Bodikon women) at discothéques in the early 1990s, therefore being a slang abbreviation to indicate the many young women who was underage in these discos.

  • From 高校生 (kōkōsei, high-school student) + ギャル (gyaru, gal, young woman, originally referring to someone not a minor).
  • From 格好 (kakkō, appearance, seeming) + ギャル (gyaru).

Another possible derivation is attributed to the mass media.

  • From (ko, child; young; small) + ギャル (gyaru).

The gyaru portion in all of these is a borrowing from English gal.

Pronunciation

Noun

コギャル (kogyaru

  1. a teenage girl participating in the kogal subculture in Japan

Usage notes

Kogal subculture is a form of the ギャル (gyaru) fashion subculture and peaked in the mid-1990s. Kogals were typically described by the Japanese media as tending to be obsessively trend-conscious.

See also

References

  1. ^ p. 18, "GIRL'S CULTURE-ギャルが日本を救う!?-" ("Girl's Culture - Gals Rescue Japan!?-", in Japanese), Zenta Nishida, editor; BRUTUS, 1 May 2009; Magazine House, Ltd.