catgirl

English

A catgirl (sense 2).

Alternative forms

• cat girl, cat-girl

Etymology

From cat +‎ girl.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkætˌɡɜːl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkætˌɡɜɹl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)l
• Hyphenation: cat‧girl

Noun

catgirl (plural catgirls)

2. (slang) A girl or woman who wears a cat costume and plays the role of a cat.
4. (Japanese fiction) A female fictional character who has a cat's ears, tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise humanoid body.

   Synonyms: neko, nekomimi

   • 2009, Jason S. Yadao, The Rough Guide to Manga, page 222:

     But publishers cannot survive on cute catgirls alone.

   • 2010, Jonathan Clements, Schoolgirl Milky Crisis: Adventures in the Anime and Manga Trade:

     Back in 1997, the Japanese magazines made a big deal out of the fact that the catgirl detective anime Hyper Police was on at one in the morning […]

   • 2016 October 7, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive - EGS:NP (webcomic), Comic for Friday, Oct 7, 2016:

     "Why do we need to leave the mall first?" "Even if I can undo this myself, I don't know how to do it or how it works! I might become more cat-like first, or turn you into a cat, or unleash a shockwave of catness that turns everyone in the mall into cat girls!"

Coordinate terms

• catboy

Related terms

• bunnygirl
• cowgirl
• foxgirl
• puppygirl
• shipgirl

 

See also

• monster boy
• monster girl

Translations

female character with feline characteristics

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 貓人 / 猫人 (māorén), 貓娘 / 猫娘 (zh) (māoniáng)

• Esperanto: katulino
• Finnish: kissatyttö
• French: fille-chat f
• German: Katzenmädchen n
• Hungarian: macskalány sg, cicalány sg
• Japanese: 猫娘 (nekomusume), 猫耳 (ja) (nekomimi) (metonomically)
• Polish: dziewczyna-kot f
• Portuguese: catgirl f
• Russian: девушка-кошка f (devuška-koška)
• Spanish: neko (es) m or f by sense, chica gata f

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• cat girl, cat-girl

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English catgirl.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌkɛ.t͡ʃiˈɡɐɹw/, /ˌkɛt͡ʃˈɡɐɹw/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌkɛ.t͡ʃiˈɡɐɹw/, /ˌkɛt͡ʃˈɡɐɹw/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌkɛt͡ʃˈɡɐɹw/, /ˌkɛ.t͡ʃiˈɡɐɹw/

• Rhymes: -ɐʁw
• Hyphenation: cat‧girl

Noun

catgirl f (plural catgirls)

1. catgirl (fictional girl or woman resembling a cat)

Further reading

• “catgirl”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025