(no subject)

[deckardcanine]

I seem to have discovered a hole in the English language.

When something's funny, you're amused.
When something's gross, you're disgusted.
When someone's sexy, you're aroused.
When something looks or smells delicious, you're tantalized.
But when something's cute, you're...what?

It certainly strikes me as a unique feeling; it can provoke a different response from anything else. I wouldn't classify it as a subset of happiness, because you can feel far from happy while observing cuteness.

Does any language have a word for this? I suspect Japanese, but I'm not the best researcher for it. We may need to coin a term.

Comments

[thefoxaroo.livejournal.com]

Enchanted, endeared, enthralled, in awe, captivated, charmed, enraptured, etc.

Cute invokes different reactions from different people. Some have no response to cute and others (my father for example) even find it repugnant (look for a YouTube video about World of Warcraft called "The Panda Exterminator" for an example of what I mean.)

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

I can see why some hate cuteness: It may feel condescending, like somebody thinks you have the mind of a little kid. Sometimes it gets cloying even for me. As for WoW, that may be more a fish-out-of-water matter; I wouldn't want puppies in the Diablo series.

I considered your suggested words, but none of them explains enough on its own. You can be charmed by a girl without finding her cute, for instance.

[thefoxaroo.livejournal.com]

Agreed on Diablo, though I did like the bunny slippers worn by the Heavy Weapons Guy in the TF2 / Diablo2 crossover video (seen in the footwear slot when he opens his inventory).

...and you can find a girl cute without being charmed by her. Yet there would be some situations where a cute girl does charm someone. Look at Old Wolf with Vanellope Von Schweetz (@Old Wolf :P )

Give me a controlled situation: Describe to me one object, creature or person, their appearance and the impressions you would feel by observing or interacting with them.

Just so long as it's something I can comprehend... so MLP is out! :P

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

OK... I see a cat like this:



My face softens. Unless I have a reason to suppress it, I croon, "Ngaww," even if nobody else is around. I may speak in a gentler, slightly higher voice.

[thefoxaroo.livejournal.com]

Top 5 sugestions:
You're adoring the cat
You're enamored with the cat
You're enraptured by the cat
You're beguiled by the cat
You're allured by the cat

Lower 5 suggestions
You're captivated by the cat (in the context of being drawn to the attention of)
You're enticed by the cat
You're fascinated with the cat
You're doting of the cat
You're catatonic :P

Again it comes back to what I was saying earlier in that no two people have the same reaction, and therefore it's near impossible to identify a word that will work for all persons. Words like Anger, Joy, Sorrow and Fear cover the most basic of human emotions, which are then divided up into the words that describe all the more subtle emotions. Yours would be somewhere in the huge segment that comes broadly under joy.

[thatcatgirl.livejournal.com]

awwwwwed.

[nefaria.livejournal.com]

I'm also frustrated that there's no apparently no English word for "acting cute with the intent of getting something out of it, i.e. a puppy begging at the table". If I can't discover such a word, I'll have to make one up, because I have a story that demands it.

[thefoxaroo.livejournal.com]

Go for it. There's no harm in making up words, in fact when successful that's one of the ways the English language expands. Geoffrey Chaucer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Chaucer) added a lot of new words to our language, and even as recently as Dr. Seuss we've gained new words such as "Nerd" (which he used to describe one of his creatures).