草

• 読み: くさ
• ローマ字: kusa
• 漢字の分解: 草 (grass) — visual metaphor from repeated w's (wwwww) resembling grass blades
• 発音: /ku.sa/

意味

The Japanese internet equivalent of 'LOL,' used to express amusement or laughter online.

Originally, Japanese internet users typed 笑 (warau, 'laugh') or its abbreviation 'w' at the end of messages. Chains of 'w' (e.g., wwwww) visually resemble blades of grass, which led to 草 (kusa, 'grass') becoming slang for laughter. It can be used alone as a reaction or appended to a sentence. The intensified form 大草原 (dai sōgen, 'vast grassland') means something is extremely funny.

例文

1. さっきの動画見た？マジで草なんだけど。
2. 自分で転んでるのに怒ってるの草すぎる。
3. 朝起きたら猫が顔の上で寝てて草。

使い方ガイド

場面: social media, online chat, video comments

トーン: humorous, reactive

正しい言い方

• それ草 (That's hilarious)
• 草生えるわこれ (This is cracking me up)

避ける言い方

• 仕事のメールで「草」と書く (Don't write 'kusa' in work emails — it's internet-only slang)

よくある間違い

• Using 草 in spoken conversation outside of ironic or humorous contexts — it is primarily a written/online term
• Not understanding 大草原 (vast grassland) as an intensified version meaning 'extremely funny'

起源と歴史

Evolved from the Japanese internet practice of appending 'w' (from 笑う, warau) after text to indicate laughter. Multiple w's (wwwww) visually resemble grass, leading to 草 (grass) being used as a synonym. Popularized on Nico Nico Douga and 2channel in the late 2000s.

文化的背景

時代: Late 2000s, mainstream by 2010s

世代: Millennials and Gen Z

社会的背景: Internet-savvy users

地域メモ: Used across Japan in online spaces. Rarely spoken aloud except ironically among friends.