enjo kosai

noun

The practice whereby young girls in Japan and Hong Kong provide companionship or sex to older men in exchange for money or luxuries; compensated dating.

OriginJapanese 援助交際 →
First used 20th c.
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Meanings

nounenjo kosai (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe practice whereby young girls in Japan and Hong Kong provide companionship or sex to older men in exchange for money or luxuries; compensated dating.First known use 20th c.

    The high price of these goods means that many young girls are tempted into lucrative enjo kosai in order to afford them.

    1999 July 8, Michael Fitzpatrick, The Guardian
    1 more example

    Many of the girls involved in enjo kosai think their fathers probably have their own kogals anyway, so why shouldn't they also reap the rewards of the practice?

    2008, William Sparrow, Red-Light Nights, Bangkok Daze

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
compensated dating

Origin

  1. Japanese援助交際
  2. Japanese援助交際
  3. Englishenjo kosai

Borrowed from Japanese 援助交際 (enjo kōsai).

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

enjo kosai. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enjo%20kosai

MLA

“enjo kosai.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enjo%20kosai. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “enjo kosai,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enjo%20kosai.

Source: enjo kosai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.