イケメン (ikemen)

What it means

1. 1.

   A good-looking man. Neutral, extremely common, and usable in print — magazines and television use it without irony.

Examples with translations

• 新しい先生、めっちゃイケメンらしいよ。

  Apparently the new teacher is seriously good-looking.

• 顔だけじゃなくて中身もイケメン。

  He's not just handsome, he's a good person with it.

  Note: 中身がイケメン — 'handsome on the inside' — is a fixed extension.

Where it comes from

イケてる ('looking good') plus メン, which does double duty as English 'men' and as 面 (men), 'face'. The pun is part of why it stuck.

First attested: around 2000

Other forms

Romanised as:

ikemen