Nyaa is the Japanese word for a cat's meow, and in anime and manga it is used by catgirl characters, known as nekomimi, to sound playful, cute or mischievous. The sound has travelled far beyond any single series through fan edits, reaction videos and short-form clips, where a half-second vocalisation is enough to signal a character's mood. It sits alongside other short anime vocal sounds such as anime ahh, which creators also use for quick reactions. Its staying power comes from that recognition: viewers who do not watch anime understand a nyaa as a cheeky, feline hello.