w

• 読み: ダブリュー
• ローマ字: daburu
• 漢字の分解: From the first letter of 笑う (warau, to laugh) — the letter W represents laughter
• 発音: /da.bu.ryū/

意味

The letter 'w' appended to the end of text to indicate laughter, equivalent to 'lol.' Multiple w's (www, wwwww) indicate stronger amusement.

Derived from the first letter of 笑う (warau, 'to laugh'), 'w' is one of the oldest Japanese internet laugh markers. A single 'w' indicates mild amusement, while stacking more w's (wwwww) shows increasing hilarity. It is used almost exclusively in text communication and predates 草 as the standard online laugh marker. Some users mix styles, but 'w' remains universally understood across all Japanese internet communities.

例文

1. テスト前日に寝落ちしたのウケるw
2. 明日テストなのにまだ何もしてないwww
3. その返しうますぎるwwwww

使い方ガイド

場面: online chat, social media, gaming, video comments

トーン: humorous, casual

正しい言い方

• ウケるw (That's funny lol)
• わかるwww (I totally get it lolol)

避ける言い方

• ビジネスチャットで「w」を使う (Don't use 'w' in business chat tools like Slack at work — too informal)

よくある間違い

• Using a single w when wwwww (multiple) is needed to convey genuine amusement — a lone w can seem sarcastic
• Mixing w with 笑 in the same message — pick one style for consistency

起源と歴史

Abbreviation of 笑う (warau, 'to laugh') or 笑い (warai, 'laughter'). First popularized on 2channel and online gaming communities in the early 2000s. Predates 草 as the standard online laugh marker.

文化的背景

時代: Early 2000s, from 2channel and online gaming culture

世代: All internet users

社会的背景: Universal internet culture

地域メモ: Used across all Japanese online platforms. The number of w's correlates with intensity of laughter.