草生える

• 読み: くさはえる
• ローマ字: kusa haeru
• 漢字の分解: 草 (grass) + 生 (grow) + える (verb suffix) → grass grows → LOL (because 'www' looks like grass)
• 発音: /kɯ.sa ha.e.ɾɯ/

意味

LOL, that's hilarious — internet slang where 草 (grass) represents laughter because 'www' resembles growing grass.

草生える traces back to abbreviating 笑 (warau/laugh) as 'w' in online gaming and bulletin boards. Multiple w's ('www' or 'wwwww') came to look like grass growing, so 草 (kusa, grass) became a stand-in for laughter. 草生える literally means 'grass is growing' but carries the meaning of 'that's hilarious.' Originated on Nico Nico Douga and 2ch, becoming mainstream internet slang by the mid-2010s. The standalone 草 is now one of the most common online laugh reactions.

例文

1. あのミーム見た？草生えるんだけど。
2. 自分の昔のツイート読み返して草生える。
3. 先生がTikTokの流行語使ってて草生えた。

使い方ガイド

場面: internet, gaming, social media

トーン: amused, internet-native

正しい言い方

• この実況動画草生える。 (This gameplay commentary is hilarious.)
• 草生えすぎて森になった。 (So much grass growing it became a forest — meaning 'I'm dying of laughter.')

避ける言い方

• 年配の人に「草」と言っても通じない (Saying 'kusa' to older people won't be understood — it is internet-generation slang)

よくある間違い

• Not understanding that 草 alone also means LOL — you do not always need the full 草生える
• Using 草生える in formal writing or business contexts — it is strictly internet slang

起源と歴史

From 'w' (abbreviation of 笑/warau) → 'www' looks like grass growing → 草 (kusa). 草生える = 'grass is growing' = LOL. Nico Nico Douga and 2ch origin, mainstream by mid-2010s.

文化的背景

時代: 2010s mainstream, origins in late 2000s Nico Nico Douga

世代: Teens to 30s, internet and gaming culture

社会的背景: Internet culture, gaming communities

地域メモ: Used across Japan online. The evolution from w → www → 草 is a uniquely Japanese internet linguistic phenomenon. 大草原 (daisougen, great plains) = extremely funny.