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In the latest season (S6) of Boku no Hero Academia, basically a mom was trying
to help her kid by giving some advice about not having such a chip on his
shoulder. But the edgelord kid reacted with "what do you know!", and then:
"啓発本でも読んだのかよ", which is translated as "Did you read a self-help book or
something?!"

My question is about 啓発本. 啓発 (keihatsu) is apparently a common word according
to jisho.org (though I've never encountered it), and they say it means a wide
range of things from "enlightenment" or "edification" to "development". I just
am not sure about any of those definitions, especially in the context of how
啓発本 is used in this particular instance.

"Did you read a self-help book or something?!" seems like an excellent
translation (given the context of the anime, where the kid is mocking his
mom's "plastic" concern), but I'm just completely unfamiliar with the term
啓発本, or 啓発 for that matter. I guess I'm asking for more thorough definitions
(in terms of connotation as well) of these terms. Another example or two would
be appreciated as well.
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2023-03-21T13:28:44.673
99006
2023-03-21T14:57:05.097
35659
question
word-choice words culture anime
啓発本 (keihatsu-bon) = self-help book = a common word? Any insight on this?
啓発本, or more fully 自己啓発本 ('self-englightening books') , is a collective name
for books that deal with successful career, positive thinking, time
management, being happy, or those kinds of things. You can google the term and
see [lists](https://honto.jp/article/book/jikokeihatsu-bestseller.html) that
should include some translations from English. My impression is that
translated books of this genre is mostly American. So _self-help book_ is
fine, but could be a bit narrower than 啓発本 as a category.

[啓発](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/en/%E5%95%93%E7%99%BA/#je-21512)する is a
verb meaning _to enlighten, provide insights_ (a synonym is 啓蒙). It is often
used in the passive.

  * この本から大いに啓発された
  * I learned a great deal from this book. (Literally, I was enlightened a lot by this book)

In practice, 啓発される is a strained/affected way to say _to learn_ and I don't
think it's used in ordinary conversations. It may be used in book reviews as a
compliment.
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2023-03-21T14:57:05.097
99008
2023-03-21T14:57:05.097
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answer