In Japanese the word
hentai anime is a kanji compound of (hen meaning "change" "weird" or "strange") and (tai meaning "attitude" or "appearance").
The term is used as a shortened form of the phrase (hentai seiyoku), or "
sexual perversion". In slang,
hentai is used as an insult
meaning roughly "
pervert" or "weirdo". The term is not often applied to
pornography in Japan. Instead, terms such as 18-kin, literally meaning
"prohibited to those not yet 18 years old", and seijin manga "
adult manga" are used when referring to
free hentai pictures in pornography.