Moe (萌え, /mo.e/, pronounced "mo-eh" literally "budding", as with a plant) is a Japanese slang word originally referring to a strong interest in particular types of character in video games or anime and manga. For example, , meganekko-moe, "glasses-girl moe", describes a person who is attracted to fictional characters with eyeglasses. "Moe!" is also used within anime fandom as an interjection referring to a character the speaker considers to be a moekko.

It is even used in some anime, such as Ouran High School Host Club, Ai Kora, Lucky Star, Kaichou-wa Maid-sama!, The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya and K-ON. There are various interpretations of what moe is today. Joseph L.

Dela Pena argues that moe is a pure, protective feeling towards a character, Both the spellings moe and moé are used in English. Some writers add an accent mark in an attempt to indicate that the word should be pronounced as two morae, "mo" and "e", but this usage does not conform to any standard of romanization. Compare bokeh (other non-standard romanization).

The term's origin and etymology is unknown. Anime columnist John Oppliger has outlined several popular theories describing how the term would have stemmed from the name of anime heroines (such as Hotaru Tomoe from Sailor Moon or Moe Sagisawa from the 1993 anime Kyoryu Wakusei). Psychologist Tamaki Saitō identifies it as coming from the Japanese word for "budding".

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