Updated July 2026
What does 乙游 mean?
乙游 (乙女游戏, yǐ yóu) means otome game in gen-z Chinese slang. An otome or dating-simulation game aimed primarily at women, where you romance a cast of characters. A mainstream fandom category, not a niche. Literally, it means "otome game".
Hear it explained
A 30-second take on 乙游 — what it means, where it came from, and how to use it.
乙游, yǐ yóu, is short for 乙女游戏 — otome games, dating sims made for women. 我最近沉迷一款乙游. Once a Japanese import, now a huge domestic industry with its own slang, its own fandom wars, and an alarming amount of merchandise.
Example
我最近沉迷一款乙游。
Wǒ zuìjìn chénmí yì kuǎn yǐ yóu.
I've been hooked on an otome game lately.
Where 乙游 comes from
Short for 乙女游戏, itself the Japanese 乙女ゲーム — "maiden game". Chinese studios turned it from an import into a large domestic category with its own vocabulary, fandom and merchandise.
Related slang
To enthusiastically ship a romantic pairing. Can be fictional characters or real people — with real people, treat consent and boundaries as part of the meaning.
A substitute that satisfies a craving the real thing cannot — in fandom, a person or scene that stands in for a pairing you actually want. Distinct from the literal diet meaning.
An ita bag — a bag covered in badges and character merch, usually behind a clear window. The "pain" is how visually overwhelming it is, and the otaku self-mockery of loving something that openly.
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