What does sorena (それな)mean?

07/03/2020

sorena

“Sorena(それな)” is a youth word used by people of the age of junior high school students to university students (and some adults).
It is often seen on SNSs.

Originally it was Internet slang, but recently it has also been used for normal conversation (of the age group mentioned above).

However, the word is so easy to use that it is increasingly used without meaning. Therefore, there are many people who are “irritated” when they hear the word.

Anyway, let’s take a closer look at “sorena”.

What does “sorena” mean?

It is used when you want to agree or show deep empathy for what someone said such as;

“Oh, yeah!”
“I totally agree with it”
“You made a good point”
“Exactly”
and so on…

Around the beginning of 2000, the Internet slang called “hagedou(禿同)” was often used. (Hageshiku doui suru: completely agree with you)
Recently, there are few people who use the word, so it seems that “sorena” is used instead.

Recently, however, an increasing number of people use the word to give a response while the other person is speaking, like saying “uh-huh”.
So, “sorena” has come to have two meanings: “I agree with you” and “uh-huh”.

If that happens, you will hear “sorena” here and there and also often see it on the Internet. That is why some people started commenting that they have been irritated to hear the word.

Also, a comedian commented on a TV program,
“I tweeted a comment on the other day with considering the contents of it taking some time. But, someone just gave me one curt response saying “sorena” and that made me frustrated.”

Certainly, “sorena” has two meanings, so it may be difficult to know whether the person who expressed it is sympathetic or eluding.
The words have been used casually by young people but has been frustrating someone recently and also became a cruel response.

“Sorena” is often used by TV celebrities in TV programs, anime, manga and so on. Adults, who know the meaning of the word, over the age group mentioned above seem to feel a little uncomfortable with the word. Other adults don’t know the word.

Also, “Sorena” was once frequently used in Twitter comments before.
Someone commented,
“There were a lot of replies to someone’s comment, and all of those had the same word ” sorena “. No matter how much I scrolled down, a series of “sorena” just continued which was very weird “

Other emoticons of “sorena”

There are is also emojis (AA) meaning “sorena” and the followings are some examples;

σ゚ロ゚)σ

(  ̄ー ̄)σ

(σ`・∀・)σ

(´ー`)σ

(☞^o^)☞

(╭☞• ⍛• )╭☞

( ━☞´◔‿ゝ◔`)━☞

Each emoji expresses “you are right!” and they are pointing their fingers.

The origin of “sorena”

There are various theories about the origin of “sorena”.

First, many people seem to think that “sorena” started with Internet slang and spread into ordinary conversations.
However, people who used the Internet around the beginning of 2000 when it was said to have been used commented, “The word“ sorena ”was not used. “

Second, the word is said to have changed from the Kansai dialect “Soyana” or “Honma sore”.
In fact, the people of Kansai use these words with the same meaning as “Sorena”.

The third is that it began to be used by high school girls.
They often to abbreviate many words and make new words, called “Gyaru-go (gal language) and new woe”. Their conversation goes quickly.

In those conversations, it is said that they changed the word “soudayona(そうだよな)” or “soudayone(そうだよね)”, which is the word of consent, to “sorena” by combining or abbreviating.

The word “sorena of sorena(それなofそれな、それなオブそれな)” is also used.
This is like “best of the best”.
As you can imagine, “sorena” is expressed with maximum feeling.