What is an ikemen?

An ikemen is a good-looking man. Ikemen is a new word which appeared around the year 2000. It comes from Japanese ikeru, iketeru, "cool", "good", "exciting" and either men (メン), from English "men" or "men's" (menzu), or men () "face". See What are contracted words like for more about Japanese contracted words.

Another version of the word, ikemen (逝け面), has gained popularity on the internet to mean exactly the opposite, a very ugly man. However, this is not used much in normal conversation.

In a fit of punning, a ramen restaurant called "ikemen", which uses a kanji pronounced men but meaning "noodles", 麺, has also sprung up.

See also How can I say "I love you" in Japanese?


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