Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features homoerotic relationships between male characters; yaoi
Similar
Origin
Phono-semantic matching of Japanese ボーイズラブ (bōizu rabu), itself a wasei eigo (和製英語; pseudo-anglicism) derived from boys + love.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic ياوي, بي إل
- ياوي (yaoi)Translations
- بي إل (BL)Translations
- حب الفتيان (ḥubb al-fityān)Translations
Chinese Mandarin 少年愛 /少年爱, 耽美
- 少年愛 /少年爱 (shàoniánài)Translations
- 耽美 (dānměi)Translations
Hindi याओई, बॉयज़ लव
- याओई (yāoī)Translations
- बॉयज़ लव (bŏyaz lav)Translations
- लड़कों का प्यार (laṛkõ kā pyār)Translations
Japanese やおい, ボーイズラブ
- やおい (yaoi)Translations
- ボーイズラブ (bōizu rabu)Translations
- BL (bīeru)Translations
Cite this entry
APA
boys' love. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boys'%20love
MLA
“boys' love.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boys'%20love. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boys' love,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boys'%20love.
Source: boys' love on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.