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When I was looking for an equivalent word for 'loud' in Japanese, I stumbled on this word:

デーハー:

Slang

Na-adjective, Noun

  1. showy; loud; gay; flashy; gaudy It also says: See also 派手 はで (said backwards?)

Source (jisho)

My questions:

  1. How much is 'デーハー' used as slang in daily life? Could you give an example or two in what context does this word is used and what nuance does this word carry?

I couldn't find usage examples both in English-Japanese or Japanese-Japanese dictionaries online

  1. Can I use this word as a substitute and have the same meaning/nuance? Because I can find a lot of examples if I use the word "派手 はで"
  2. Is there any story how this word become 'slang' word, for example when > a comedian or an actor/actress use this word a lot?

Weblio: Source

Goo.ne: Source

Kotobank/Yahoo.jp: Source

These are some examples I found for 派手:

その服は彼女には派手でしょう.

I'm afraid that dress is too young for her. (is it implied that the dress probably too 'sexy'/'showing a lot of skin' for her?)

私のパジャマはやや派手だ.

My pyjamas are rather decorative. (as in too many colors?)

大胆で派手な性格は政治家にとって貴重な資質かもしれない.

A daring, theatrical personality may be an asset to a politician.

Can I exchange all of these with デーハー ?

Another usage I found using 派手:

派手な買い物 -> shopping spree = can this meaning be exchanged with デーハー as well?

派手な化粧 -> flashy makeup = can this meaning be exchanged with デーハー as well?

彼は派手好きだ. -> he's fond of the show. = can this meaning be exchanged with デーハー as well?

Thank you very much for all your answers!

Source

1 Answer 1

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デーハー is virtually a dead word. I can easily guess the meaning, but maybe I haven't heard it used in a daily conversation in my entire life. If you're a very fluent Japanese speaker, people may understand it as a joke and laugh. Otherwise, you should not use it.

デーハー is probably part of the so-called ズージャ語 vocabulary, which was used as argot by a certain group of people in the showbiz industry. This type of wordplay caught on in the 1980's, and a few words including マイウー, クリソツ, グラサン and ワイハ are still surviving today (that does not mean you can safely use these). Although デーハー is rare, native speakers who remember the etymology of クリソツ and ワイハ can probably guess the meaning of デーハー, too.

Related:

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  • 1
    It should be noted that some comedians are taking materials from them recently, so the recognition, and thus acceptability is expected higher than a while ago. Nov 20, 2018 at 1:54
  • 1
    @broccoliforest え、最近またこれ流行ってるんですか?「まいうー」くらいは時々聞く気がしますが…
    – naruto
    Nov 20, 2018 at 1:56
  • 1
    こんな感じの人がいたかと思います things-going.com/hiranonora-50-bubbly-neta あと男芸人もいたような気がしますが記憶が… Nov 20, 2018 at 2:07
  • As usual, thanks for your helpful answer, naruto! and also broccoli forest. Really appreciate your insightful comment as well.
    – Flonne
    Nov 20, 2018 at 11:27

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