Glossary
Terms used in the stories.
The Basics
- VTuber
- A streamer who appears as an animated avatar instead of on camera. The avatar follows the streamer's face and voice in real time.
- Agency 事務所
- A company that VTubers belong to. It handles management, equipment, sponsorships and events, and often owns the character and avatar.
- Independent 個人勢
- A VTuber who streams without an agency, arranging their own avatar, equipment and work.
- Generation 期生
- A group of an agency's talents who debuted together, as in "3rd generation". Talents of the same generation are each other's dōki.
- Senpai and kōhai 先輩・後輩
- Within an agency, a talent who debuted earlier (senpai) and one who debuted later (kōhai).
- Mama ママ・パパ
- What fans and streamers call the illustrator who designed a VTuber's avatar (sometimes "papa").
- Live2D
- Software that animates a 2D illustration by moving its separated parts. Most VTubers stream with a Live2D model.
Kinds of Stream
- Zatsudan (chatting stream) 雑談配信
- A stream with no game or set topic, where the streamer talks and reads the chat.
- Utawaku (karaoke stream) 歌枠
- A stream of songs sung live, usually covers. Song lists are often tagged by fans afterward.
- Morning stream (asakatsu) 朝活
- A short stream in the morning, often held on a fixed day of the week, to greet viewers before work or school.
- Watchalong 同時視聴
- A stream where the streamer watches a broadcast, match or film at the same time as viewers and reacts, without showing the footage itself.
- Collab コラボ
- Working together with other streamers, or with a company or title. Most often it means streaming together, online or in the same room (an off-collab).
- Off-collab オフコラボ
- A collab where the streamers are in the same room rather than connected online.
- Totsumachi (call-in stream) 凸待ち
- A stream where the streamer waits for other streamers to call in one after another, often for a birthday or milestone.
- Guerrilla stream ゲリラ配信
- A stream started without prior announcement.
- Endurance stream 耐久配信
- A stream that continues until a goal is reached, such as clearing a game or reaching a subscriber count, however long it takes.
- Unarchived stream アーカイブなし
- A stream that is not kept as a video afterward, so it can only be watched live.
- Gyakutotsu (reverse call-in) 逆凸
- The reverse of a totsumachi: the streamer calls other streamers one after another.
- Karaoke relay 歌枠リレー
- An event where several streamers hold karaoke streams one after another, passing the baton.
- Viewer-participation stream 参加型
- A stream where viewers join the streamer's game as players.
- Roleplay (RP) ロールプレイ（RP）
- Playing a character on a game server set up for roleplay, often with many other streamers at once.
- Waiting room 待機所
- A scheduled stream's page before it starts. The chat is open, so viewers gather and talk while they wait.
- Archive アーカイブ
- The recording of a finished stream, kept on the channel to watch later.
YouTube Features and Support
- Super Chat スーパーチャット（スパチャ）
- A paid message in a YouTube live chat. It stays pinned near the top of the chat for a while, and streamers often read them out. This paper counts them but never reports the amounts.
- Membership メンバーシップ（メン限）
- A monthly paid subscription to a YouTube channel. Members get badges, emotes, and members-only streams and posts. This paper does not cover members-only streams.
- Super Sticker スーパーステッカー
- A paid animated sticker sent in a YouTube live chat. Like a Super Chat, it supports the streamer.
- Super Chat reading スパチャ読み
- The part of a stream, usually the end, where the streamer reads out Super Chats and thanks the senders.
- Monetization 収益化
- Joining the YouTube Partner Program, after which a channel can earn from Super Chats, memberships and ads. New talents sometimes hold a stream to mark it.
- Concurrent viewers 同時接続数（同接）
- The number of people watching a live stream at the same moment.
- YouTube Shorts YouTubeショート
- Short vertical videos of up to three minutes, shown in their own feed. Many VTubers post moments from their streams as Shorts.
- Moderator モデレーター
- A viewer the channel trusts to keep the live chat in order, removing messages and timing out users.
- Hashtag ハッシュタグ
- A #-tagged word that groups posts on X and other sites. Streamers usually set their own: one for posts about streams, one for fan art, one for clips.
Milestones
- Debut stream 初配信
- A streamer's first stream, usually introducing the character and avatar.
- 3D debut 3Dお披露目
- The first stream with a full-body 3D model driven by motion capture, after streaming with a 2D model.
- New outfit 新衣装
- A new costume for a streamer's avatar, usually unveiled in its own stream.
- Anniversary 周年
- A year, two years and so on since a streamer's debut. Usually marked with a stream, and often with merchandise.
- Graduation 卒業
- A streamer's retirement from activity, or departure from their agency. The channel usually stays up after a final stream.
- Birthday stream 誕生日配信
- A stream on the character's birthday, often with guests, a new outfit or merchandise.
- Hiatus 活動休止
- A break from streaming, usually announced in advance, for health, study or other reasons.
- 3D concert 3Dライブ
- A concert performed with 3D models on a stage, streamed or held at a venue.
- Original song オリジナル曲（オリ曲）
- A song written for the streamer and released under their name.
- Song cover (utattemita) 歌ってみた
- A video of the streamer singing an existing song, usually with a new arrangement and an illustrated or animated video.
Fan Vocabulary
- Kirinuki (clip) 切り抜き
- A short video cut from a stream, often subtitled, made and posted by fans.
- Oshi 推し
- The streamer a fan supports most.
- Teetee てぇてぇ
- Slang for a moment of warm chemistry between two streamers, from a slurred form of the Japanese word for "precious".
- Listener リスナー
- A viewer. Japanese streams say "listener" where English ones say "viewer" or "chat".
- Fan name ファンネーム
- The name a streamer gives their fans as a group.
- Fan art ファンアート
- Art of a streamer drawn by fans, usually posted under the streamer's fan-art hashtag. Streamers often show it on stream.
- Shoken (first time) 初見
- A viewer watching a channel for the first time; also playing a game for the first time, unspoiled.
- Marshmallow マシュマロ
- A web service for sending a streamer anonymous messages, often answered in a stream.
Games
- Gacha ガチャ
- A game mechanic where players spend currency on random draws for characters or items. Streamers often pull live.
- Scrim スクリム
- A practice match between teams in a competitive game, held before a tournament.
- Custom match カスタムマッチ
- A private match set up by the players themselves, often used for practice or events between streamers.