Is it wrong to be an otaku or to use that word?

Google says it's a derogative term and it looks like even in some anime otaku characters are marked as ''weird''

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🤷Like what you like, but what's wrong with just being "a fan"? If you don't know the word for all its cultural connotations, how 'bout you just don't use it?

Melpomene · 22-25, F

@AbbySvenz I'm asking to clarify things. I read this somewhere and got confused. If I avoided everything I didn't know or couldn't understand I'd probably stay on the same level I was when I was like 10 y/o.

AbbySvenz · F

Well, in that case, check several different language dictionaries, maybe talk to/message people/friends/acquaintances who know the language and ask them what it means to them and then decide...?

Melpomene · 22-25, F

@AbbySvenz I checked on google, I don't have a Japanese dictionary (why would you check others though?) or acquaintance who knows Japanese language/culture I could ask nor time to search around. That's why I asked it here. @Rokasu explained nicely and simply.
Though I'm not sure what you meant on ''deciding''? If it's a good or a bad term used by many, my opinion is irrelevant.

AbbySvenz · F

It depends on the context. Especially in Japanese. Who's saying it, how they're saying it, to whom they are speaking.... it all adds up to something that could be whimsical or demeaning. How many different ways are there to read "baka," after all?