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別にBetsuni: what it means in anime
べつに · betsuni
particularly; especially; specially
Betsuni means "not really", "not particularly" or, said alone, "nothing". 別に。 as a one-word answer is curt and can sound cold.
Updated November 2, 2026
Where you hear it
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別に モテなくたっていいんだ
Mob Psycho 100Episode 3 · 9 lines in episodes 1–3 -
別にオタクというわけではない
HorimiyaEpisode 1 · 6 lines in episodes 1–3
From the Japanese subtitles · how we count
Usage and nuance
It is the signature word of the tsundere: べ、別にあんたのためじゃないんだからね！, "i-it's not like I did it for you!". The stammer plus 別に is the whole joke.
In normal sentences it softens a denial: Horimiya's 別にオタクというわけではない is "it's not that I'm an otaku or anything", and Mob Psycho 100's 別にモテなくたっていいんだ is "it's fine if I'm not popular".
It is usually followed by a negative. 別に is from 別 (separate, other), so 別に is literally "separately, particularly".
Hear 別に in Mob Psycho 1009 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account