リムる

• Reading: リムる
• Romaji: rimuru
• Pronunciation: /ɾi.mu.ɾu/

Meaning

To remove or unfollow someone on social media.

Derived from the English word 'remove,' リムる follows the Japanese pattern of shortening foreign words and adding -る to create verbs. Primarily used on Twitter/X and other platforms, it describes the act of unfollowing someone. Unlike ブロック (blocking), リムる is softer — you simply stop seeing their posts. Being リムられた (removed/unfollowed) can still sting socially.

Examples

1. あの人のツイートうるさいからリムったわ。 That person's tweets were too much so I unfollowed them.
2. え、リムられてる！何かした？ Wait, I got unfollowed! Did I do something wrong?
3. フォロワー整理でリムるのって気まずいよね。 Unfollowing people during a follower cleanup feels kind of awkward, right?

Usage Guide

Context: social media, online communities

Tone: matter-of-fact, sometimes passive-aggressive

Do Say

• フォロワー整理でリムるかも、気にしないでね。 (I might unfollow during a cleanup, don't take it personally.)
• しつこい人リムったらスッキリした。 (I unfollowed that annoying person and it felt great.)

Don't Say

• 面と向かって「リムるね」は関係が壊れる (Saying 'I'm going to unfollow you' to someone's face will damage the relationship)

Common Mistakes

• Confusing リムる (unfollow/remove) with ブロックする (block) — リムる is milder
• Using リムる outside of social media contexts — it is platform-specific language

Origin & History

From English 'remove' → リムーブ → shortened to リム + Japanese verb suffix -る. Became standard social media vocabulary in the early 2010s with the rise of Twitter in Japan.

Cultural Context

Era: Early 2010s Twitter/social media era

Generation: Teens to 30s

Social background: Social media users

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. Japan has one of the largest Twitter/X user bases globally, making this term widely known.