You may have noticed that the word “哈基米” (Chinese pronunciation is Ha-Ji-Mi, hereinafter referred to as hajimi) is becoming popular on the Chinese Internet in recent months. On the Chinese Internet it means kitten, BUT this is actually a misunderstanding. It is a Japanese word that originally means honey.
The word comes from the Japanese word はちみ（Ha-Chi-Mi）, which originally means honey drink. In the Japanese anime Uma Musume Pretty Derby, there is a song called Honey Song (はちみーのうた). Some netizens made some interesting arrangements based on this song. However, as the arrangements were abused in various cute pet videos in Douyin (TikTok’s prototype in China), some people mistakenly believed that hajimi is the Japanese word for cat. Despite various rumors, the rumor still exists.
So if you see hajimi (哈基米) on Chinese internet, you should know that it is most likely describing a kitten. But its original meaning is honey.
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