husbando

A husbando is a fictional male character, usually from anime, manga or a video game, that a fan adores or has a crush on. It’s the male counterpart of waifu.

What husbando means

If someone calls a character their husbando, he’s their favourite guy in the series, the one they’d marry if fiction allowed it. The word is playful: it takes “husband” and adds the “-o” ending in the same joking way waifu bends “wife.”

Husbandos are often the brooding swordsman, the gentle healer or the overpowered rival. Fans happily argue over them the same way they argue over waifus.

Examples

• “Levi is my husbando and I won’t hear otherwise.”
• “Who’s your husbando from this season?”
• “She has a whole Pinterest board for her husbandos.”
• “Waifu or husbando, everyone has a favourite.”

Where husbando comes from

Wikipedia notes that husbando emerged years after waifu, as a male equivalent. Dictionary.com also describes it as the male version. Its exact first use isn’t documented.

Related terms

• Waifu: the female equivalent.
• Otaku: an intense fan.
• Tsundere: cold outside, soft inside.
• Stan: an extremely devoted fan.

Explore more in our anime slang dictionary.