bishounen

literally means “pretty boy,” as in an attractive member of the male gender. also spelled “bishonen,” and sometimes shortened to “bish” and “bishie/bishy.” it is a j-panese word, adopted by female anime fans in the rest of the world to denote any male anime, manga, or video game character they happen to find good looking. strictly speaking, “bishounen” should only refer to boys under age 20, since a “pretty man” would be “biseinen.” however, most people prefer to use bishounen for men and boys of all ages, as it is so widely used.

opinions on which males are bishounen and which are not vary according to personal tastes. the stereotypical bishounen generally has long hair, a slender, graceful figure, and lacks facial hair. bishounen tend to appear androgynous or feminine. they are also likely to have certain personality traits, like sensitivity, secretiveness, moodiness, refinement, and a dark, tormented past.

this word is a noun, but is sometimes used as an adjective, as in the sentence “that guy is so bishounen.” as an adjective, the word means “having or displaying the traits of a bishounen.”
“you can tell vincent is a bishounen because he’s thin, he has long hair, and he’s really angsty.”
10 more definitions
one of the 3 stages of male beauty most men will never achieve, esp. if they’re 3 dimensional & non-asian.

bisyouta/bishota: cute little boy. (usually around 13, wich in j-pan, is the age of concent)

bishounen (commonly mispelled as bishonen); a boy around 14-19 who has femanine qualities & youthfullness that enhance his physical appearence.

biseinen; a man who has retained androgynous beauty after becoming an adult.
the more manly looking or handsome a man is, the less bishounen he is. for example; ff7 & bakuretsu hunters;
marron/vincent; bishounen/biseinen.
cid/gateau; not biseinen.
a hot anime/manga guy that catches the eyes of the female readers or watches. but is mistaked to much by parents & non-anime/manga people to be female charaters. usually the charater is either a sad one or has a hidden past which draws people to them. also known as a charater they the watches or reader will never forget.
vincent final fantasy vii was found in a weird place yet when seen he has long black hair, smoth face, and unknown past which makes him so bishounen.

howl howl’s moving castle is seen with fairly long hair with a girlish face that dresses in fancy clothes.
an also femininely beautiful man. usually appears in manga or anime, but can rarely be seen in real life (see gackt).
bishoooouuuunen…. -drool-
in anime, a young boy who is very cute and can be mistaken for a girl. literal translation is beautiful boy.
“this manga is full of hot bishounen!”
a really hot guy. most likly appears girly. long perfect hair (no split ends or anything like that),no facial hair, slender build, pale skin, beautiful eyes (large) that seem expresive but are really hiding a lot of things (like pain or sadness). quite, socialable, doesn’t really date people, smart, agile, dangerous yet s-xy as all get out. does fight but not hand to hand(prefers to fight with whips, guns and that sort of thing so that blood does not get on them. but we would not have it any other way.)smiles at people but it is a small sad (or polite) smile.
think: kurama(yu yu hakusho)
ex: ohhh kurama, i just love what you have done with your hair!!!!!
a hot anime/manga guy that catches the eyes of the female readers or watches. but is mistaked to much by parents & non-anime/manga people to be female charaters. usually the charater is either a sad one or has a hidden past which draws people to them. also known as a charater they the watches or reader will never forget.
vincent final fantasy vii was found in a weird place yet when seen he has long black hair, smoth face, and unknown past which makes him so bishounen.

howl howl’s moving castle is seen with fairly long hair with a girlish face that dresses in fancy clothes.