# ぶりっ子



## cheshire

Some say "Burikko" is no longer used, but I don't believe that. 
What do you say it in English, French, German, Italian, Chinese and Russian? Or in other languages?


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## Flaminius

As a non-native, I may be groping for the answer in the dark but here are my suggestions for English.
The closest noun I could find is "prude" but it is not without a slant for aversion to sexual rudeness.  If I could include adjectives with a similar meaning, I'd prefer "coy" and "demure."


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## almostfreebird

I know what that means, but I’ve never used the word. I think I’ve heard it a few times somewhere maybe on TV or comics. That means someone (especially young one) who pretends to be  intelligent or important or pretty and so on when he/she is not much. I think it’s come from a compound verb like：

偉ぶる(eraburu)
利口ぶる(rikouburu)
かわいい子ぶる(kawaiikoburu)


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## Flaminius

I don't think I would call smart-Alecky or self-important girls ぶりっ子.  In fact they sound very opposite of ぶりっ子.

The authorised etymology of ぶりっ子 is いい子ぶりっ子, which is a rhyming nominalisation of いい子ぶる.  The pretentious innocence of a goody-goody, however, is only half of the story of ぶりっこ.

The other half is that ぶりっ子 is a young woman who resorts to innocence histrionics to get popular among men.  Some of the ぶりっ子 characteristics are acting coquettishly dumb, ostensible femininity and ready display of ignorance and powerlessness; maybe more...


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## Aoyama

> ぶりっ子 is a young woman who resorts to innocence histrionics to get popular among men. Some of the ぶりっ子 characteristics are acting coquettishly dumb, ostensible femininity and ready display of ignorance and powerlessness


well,we should get a clear picture of things with this. Flaminius _bottomless_ expertise is amazing .
My try for ぶりっ子 in French would be *saintenitouche*, *une petite saintenitouche *(various spellings : Sainte Nitouche, sainte nitouche).
By the way, there is an old expression, a bit obsolete now, in Japanese : 釜等々( I am not sure of the exact writing, it should be kamatoto or kamatoutou -exact kanjis : 蒲魚) meaning something close (_mutatis mutandis_) to ぶりっ子 ...


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## samanthalee

Here in Singapore, we call it _act cute_ or _acting cute_. I'm not sure whether this is standard English or whether it is unique to Singapore; you may like to check with other English speakers just to be sure.


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## Hiro Sasaki

samanthalee said:


> Here in Singapore, we call it _act cute_ or _acting cute_. I'm not sure whether this is standard English or whether it is unique to Singapore; you may like to check with other English speakers just to be sure.


 
To be more　precise, " pretend to be cute" or maybe pretend to be
a virgin 


Hiro Sasaki


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## cheshire

prude, coy, demure: Aren't these different from ぶりっこ？

釜等々: I'm curious why it's spelled that.



			
				Hiro said:
			
		

> To be more　precise, " pretend to be cute" or maybe pretend to be
> a virgin


 Your's is a very narrow take of ぶりっこ. That's not what people know about the word.

act cute: I agree this is more like it. Can we say "play cute"?


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## almostfreebird

"Kamatoto" never occurred to me,

but yes, Burikko sounds like the same as Kamatoto in a way.

I wonder where the word "kamatoto" come from?


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## Flaminius

almostfreebird said:


> I wonder where the word "kamatoto" come from?


Here is an etymology.


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## Aoyama

> 釜等々: I'm curious why it's spelled that.


No, this writing (at the whim of the computer) is completely wrong,_ mea culpa_ somewhere.
It should be 蒲魚. For the rest, see the site indicated by Flaminius.


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## samanthalee

Burikko sounds like the same as Kamatoto?
I always think a Burikko is nauseating, especially their childlike voice. A Kamatoto could be pleasantly soft-spoken, though they'll become irritating if they carry their act too far.


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## Flaminius

Hello *Samanthalee*,
I am surprised that such an old word as _kamatoto_ is known by foreign learners outside Japan.   It has been largely fallen out of use here. It was only a few years ago that I heard the word for the first time - by someone in her 50s.

Since the word is obsolescent, I have never found it necessary to distinguish between _burikko_ and _kamatoto_. But you seem to be so exposed to the word that you find it necessary to establish some distinction between them. Could I prevail upon you to please tell us more about how and where you see _kamatoto_ in use?


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## unprimesuspect

かまととって、死語なんですか？いつのまに？

Maybe it's a regional thing but I think the word is still very much in use:

http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1412092029

BTW, I think for many Japanese people who were around the 80's (am I the only one here??? I'm not that old!), 松田聖子 defined and embodied the word ぶりっ子. 

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%B6%E3%82%8A%E3%81%A3%E5%AD%90

I thought extreme ぶりっ子 behaviors were out of the TV landscape till I saw さとう珠緒.   If anyone is still confused to what ぶりっ子 is, try catch her on any of those variety shows.

Anyway, I think burriko is basically someone who acts all cutesy and girlie in order to get attention from men. I'm sure many women find "burikko-ism" very irritating if not offensive (男性に媚を売ってる）but some men even to this day seem to find that charming. 

http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1310416708


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## samanthalee

I heard the term _kamatoto_ from a Taiwanese variety show. Taiwanese shows sometimes blurt a Japanese phrase or two in the middle of a conversation.

Having said how I detest Burikkos, I have to admit to unconsciously slipping into Burikko-ism when talking on the phone. I didn't notice it until a colleague pointed it out to me. The worst thing is, my sister told me I've been doing that all my life.  Ewk.

By the way, the Chinese calls Burikko 裝可愛 or 扮可愛. And kamatoto is called 扮純情.

松田聖子 is a little too far back in time . I would say that Misa of the Death Note Movie was a total Burikko when she was bouncing around, calling herself Misa-Misa.


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## unprimesuspect

samanthalee said:


> Having said how I detest Burikkos, I have to admit to unconsciously slipping into Burikko-ism when talking on the phone.



それって、ぶりっ子ぶってるんじゃなくって、よそ行きの声で話しているだけなんじゃないのかな？



samanthalee said:


> By the way, the Chinese calls Burikko 裝可愛 or 扮可愛. And kamatoto is called 扮純情.



Looking at the Chinese characters, I think they are "right on." When a risqué topic comes up, a kamatoto might say:

「私、あまりそういった事、分からないので．．．」

Whereas a burriko might say:

「え〜、やだ〜、（自分の名前）そんなのはずかしぃし〜わかんな〜い」　
 


samanthalee said:


> 松田聖子 is a little too far back in time . I would say that Misa of the Death Note Movie was a total Burikko when she was bouncing around, calling herself Misa-Misa.



Though I was quite young when 松田聖子 was at the peak of her popularity, I'm totally feeling like an Obasan.  I have no idea who Misa is or what Death Note is! Generation gap!!!


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## almostfreebird

<<Misa of the Death Note Movie>>

Desu nôto


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## jazyk

What about ingenue?


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## Aoyama

Ingenue is a possibility, and would also work in French (the word is originally French) ingénue. A bit literary but on the mark.


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## cheshire

jazyk said:


> What about ingenue?


If it means a girl is ingenue as her nature, not pretence, that isn't equal to ぶりっこ. ぶりっこ　is a girl who *pretends *to be an ingenue.


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## notnotchris

How about "bimbo" as an English translation of burikko?


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## Hiro Sasaki

In google Japanese,

1. [FONT='&#65325]かまとと　　　　１７，３００　件[/FONT]

[FONT='&#65325]２．　カマトト　　　７６，７００　件[/FONT]

When the etymology is not recognizable easily,
we usually write the words or phrases in Katakana.

In written form, the word [FONT='&#65325]カマトト　[/FONT]will not appear so often,
but in colloquial conversations, we use [FONT='&#65325]カマトト　[/FONT]more often.

Hiro Sasaki


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## unprimesuspect

Chris, though it can certainly be argued that burrikos are basically bimbos who are putting on a cutesy girlie act, they aren't exactly one and the same.


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## almostfreebird

According to Urban Dictionary bimbo is:

#1   A girl who is stupid, wears lots of make up and is obsessed with boys and clothes. Generally blonde but there are exceptions. Usually hang around i with other bimbos. You can spot them because they will be the big group of girls that all look the same and are giggling hysterically.

#2   Woman who is not attractive enough to be a model, not intelligent enough to be an actress, and not nice enough to be a poisonous snake.

#3  A very stupid woman; an airhead

#4  female, pretty, stupid, dumb. usually vain and egoistic.

#5  A stupid, egotistic blonde, usually with big breasts who wears shit loads of make up. she also has lots of friends that look exactly like her. soooo unoriginal.

So burikko is pretty much the same as bimbo except that burikkos generally don't have big breasts or blonde hair.


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## unprimesuspect

almostfreebird said:


> So burikko is pretty much the same as bimbo except that burikkos generally don't have big breasts or blonde hair.



I disagree. Being a bimbo is about exaggerating one's sexuality and being a burikko is about acting over the top cute. Both Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton are prototypical bimbos (no disrespect intended) but I've never seen them act burikko.

I know Katie Couric is a respected journalist  and she certainly isn't a bimbo but I think she does have a slight tendency towards burikko-ism:

http://members.aol.com/flopez1542/KatieCheer.jpg


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## Aoyama

> Originally Posted by *almostfreebird*
> 
> 
> So burikko is pretty much the same as bimbo except that burikkos generally don't have big breasts or blonde hair.
> I disagree. Being a bimbo is about exaggerating one's sexuality and being a burikko is about acting over the top cute. Both Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton are prototypical bimbos (no disrespect intended) but I've never seen them act burikko.


And I agree with unprimesuspect's disagreement.
Bimbos _per se_ would hardly fit in a Japanese context, too agressive or too _assertive_ . Burikko, like garuru (avatar of "girl" in Japanese) or gankuro are all specific "products" ,so to speak, of Japanese society. A translation is possible but probably the _actual thing_ is untranslatable ...


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## almostfreebird

How about this?  She looks burriko not bimbo.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/almostfreebird/wizardofoz2.jpg?t=1192599286


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## Aoyama

You mean CR ?
They all look burriko (_burrico, burriquo_)to me, which would then be close to Spanish _burro_, or French _bourrique_ and that would then mean _silly as an ass_ ...


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## notnotchris

Ha ha, funny pic. I agree that bimbo and burikko have different nuances. I guess this is one of those words you just have to use as-is in English (call them burikko) or if you're writing to an audience that wouldn't understand the term, you'd have to give an explanatory translation (girl that feigns ignorance to be cute). It's pretty culture-specific, though, so a one-to-one translation will be hard to come by.


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