<p>In Japanese, Hikari says that Futaba's eyebrows look like <em>tenten</em>, the two strokes added to a kana to change the voicing value, also known as <em>dakuten</em>. E.g. か <em>ka</em> becomes が <em>ga</em>.</p>

<p>You can see the resemblance in this picture from the manga, at least if you imagine Futaba's eyebrows both pointing in the same direction:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Fdccp.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Fdccp.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/JC4KZ.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/JC4KZ.gif" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>"Dotty" came from a translation of <em>tenten</em> as "dot", presumably because "Periody" or "Semicolony" didn't sound good.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-27T12:54:19.437Z
So Teko is from Tenten no Ko (〃の子 or tenten girl)?
絢瀬絵里
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-27T14:29:58.147Z
@AyaseEri I assume so. In the scene it seems like Hikari skips straight from tenten to Teko but I don't know where else "ko" could have come from.
Torisuda
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-26T14:46:39.813Z
2016-07-26T14:46:39.813Z
Torisuda
<p>In Episode 1 of <em>Amanchu!</em>, Hikari bestows the nickname &quot;Teko&quot; on Futaba, with the following explanation.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/QMd69m.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/QMd69m.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a>
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<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/NL0qBm.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/NL0qBm.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a>
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<blockquote>
<p><strong>Hikari</strong>: [Gazes longingly into Futaba's eyes]</p>
<p><strong>Hikari</strong>: Wow! Your eyebrows are so thin. They're, like, one-tenth as thick as the average. One-tenth...Tenth...Teko! An adorable nickname!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>How did Hikari hit upon this nickname in the original Japanese? And bonus question: the translation I read of the manga translated Futaba's nickname as &quot;Dotty&quot;. Was this completely out of nowhere, or does it have some justification in the original?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-26T08:27:24.600Z
It's probably a short form of some word that has a "te" sound somewhere at the beginning sticked together with "ko" which means "child" and is commonly used in such nickname portmanteaus. Try listening to what the characters are saying in that scene and you'll probably hear a "te" word.
Hakase
<japanese-language><amanchu>
Why is Futaba's nickname "Teko"?
# Why is Futaba's nickname "Teko"?
Posted by: username_0 on 2016-07-26
In Episode 1 of *Amanchu!*, Hikari bestows the nickname "Teko" on Futaba, with the following explanation.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/QMd69m.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/QMd69m.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/5pziMm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/5pziMm.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/WLhQAm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/WLhQAm.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/NL0qBm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/NL0qBm.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/RW7Wam.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/RW7Wam.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/Ngluom.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/Ngluom.jpg)

> **Hikari**: [Gazes longingly into Futaba's eyes]
>
> **Hikari**: Wow! Your eyebrows are so thin. They're, like, one-tenth as thick as the average. One-tenth...Tenth...Teko! An adorable nickname!

How did Hikari hit upon this nickname in the original Japanese? And bonus question: the translation I read of the manga translated Futaba's nickname as "Dotty". Was this completely out of nowhere, or does it have some justification in the original?
**Tags:** japanese-language amanchu
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It's probably a short form of some word that has a "te" sound somewhere at the beginning sticked together with "ko" which means "child" and is commonly used in such nickname portmanteaus. Try listening to what the characters are saying in that scene and you'll probably hear a "te" word.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_0 on 2016-07-26. Score: 3 | Accepted answer
In Japanese, Hikari says that Futaba's eyebrows look like *tenten*, the two strokes added to a kana to change the voicing value, also known as *dakuten*. E.g. か *ka* becomes が *ga*.

You can see the resemblance in this picture from the manga, at least if you imagine Futaba's eyebrows both pointing in the same direction:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/Fdccp.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/Fdccp.jpg)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/JC4KZ.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/JC4KZ.gif)

"Dotty" came from a translation of *tenten* as "dot", presumably because "Periody" or "Semicolony" didn't sound good.
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2016-07-27): So Teko is from Tenten no Ko (〃の子 or tenten girl)?  
> **username_0** (2016-07-27): @AyaseEri I assume so. In the scene it seems like Hikari skips straight from tenten to Teko but I don't know where else "ko" could have come from.  
---
