in modern Japanese slang, the term otaku is most often equivalent to "geek". Most often that of computers. However, it can relate to a shabiki of any particular theme, topic, hobby au any form of entertainment.

Common uses are anime otaku (a shabiki of anime), cosplay otaku and manga otaku (a shabiki of Japanese graphic novels, anime being the animated version thereof, that is so maarufu among today's Western cultures), pasokon otaku (personal computer geeks), gēmu otaku (playing video games), and wota (pronounced 'ota', previously referred to as "idol otaku") that are extreme mashabiki of idols, heavily promoted...