Situation Voice Glossary for Overseas Fans

Situation voice listings on DLsite are written by and for a Japanese audience, which means a lot of load-bearing vocabulary shows up untranslated or half-translated even once a work itself has English support. This glossary covers twenty terms — genre basics, production credits, and recurring content tags — you’ll run into constantly while browsing. Where a term matches an official tag on this site, we use the same English wording you’ll see on work pages, so the terms below line up with what you’ll actually find while browsing.

Genre & production terms

Situation Voice (シチュボ) — Shorthand for “situation voice drama,” the genre this whole site covers: audio releases built around a specific romantic or erotic scenario, usually voiced by one or a small handful of performers, with little to no video component. “Shichibo” is the common Japanese abbreviation you’ll see used casually.

Otome (乙女向け) — Literally “for maidens,” used as a category label for works aimed at a female audience, typically centered on a male love interest voiced for a female listener’s perspective. It’s the demographic label most relevant to this site, as distinct from male-audience-oriented ASMR and voice work.

Drama CD (ドラマCD) — The older, broader term for a voiced audio drama release, predating digital-only distribution. You’ll still see it used generically for situation voice works even though most releases today are downloads rather than physical discs.

Circle (サークル) — The production team or studio behind a work — usually a small independent group rather than a large company, similar to how “circle” is used across Japanese doujin (independent creator) culture more broadly.

CV — Short for “character voice,” used on listings the way a cast credit would be — “CV: [name]” tells you which voice actor performs the release.

Translators Unite (みんなで翻訳) — DLsite’s official community translation program, through which independent translators localize works into other languages with revenue shared back to the original circle. See our full explainer for how it works.

Sound & recording terms

Binaural / Dummy-Head Mic (バイノーラル/ダミヘ) — Recording captured through a mannequin-style “dummy head” microphone positioned at ear level, designed to reproduce spatial, close-proximity sound when heard through headphones. Our full guide covers the technique and the KU100 mic specifically.

ASMR — Used the same way it is in English-language content generally: recordings built around tingling, relaxing auditory sensations — whispering, close breathing, soft mouth sounds — rather than narrative.

Whispering (囁き / ささやき / Sasayaki) — A dedicated content style built around hushed, close-mic’d vocal delivery rather than a normal speaking voice, often paired with binaural recording for maximum intimacy.

Ear Cleaning (耳かき / Mimikaki) — A specific ASMR staple depicting an in-fiction ear-cleaning scene, usually paired with close binaural mic work simulating the sound and sensation of the act itself. It’s one of the more recognizable ASMR sub-genres even outside situation voice specifically.

Ear Licking (耳舐め) — Exactly what it says: audio content simulating the sound and sensation of a performer’s mouth directly at the listener’s ear, one of the most common proximity-focused tags in the genre.

Vulgar Moans (オホ声 / Oho-goe) — An unfiltered, guttural moaning style, generally more explicit and less restrained-sounding than typical vocal performance in the genre — a specific vocal register some listeners specifically seek out and others specifically avoid.

Mood & story tags

Yandere (ヤンデレ) — A character whose love or devotion tips into obsession, possessiveness, or instability — from a blend of 病む (yamu, to become sick/twisted) and 恋 (koi, love/romantic feeling). One of the genre’s most searched terms; see our yandere feature for examples.

Dirty Talk (淫語) — Explicit verbal content during a scene — as opposed to narration or story dialogue, this tag flags works where sexually explicit spoken language is a deliberate, prominent feature.

Verbal Humiliation (言葉責め) — Teasing or degrading dialogue directed at the listener character, used as a form of dominance distinct from any physical content in the same scene.

Netorare / NTR (寝取られ) — A storyline built around infidelity or a partner being taken by someone else, from 寝取る (netoru, to sleep with/steal a partner) plus the passive form られ (rare). It’s a divisive tag — some listeners specifically seek it out, others specifically avoid it, so it’s worth checking for before buying.

Sleep Induction (睡眠導入) — Content specifically designed to help the listener fall asleep — slow pacing, low volume, minimal jarring sound — as distinct from being simply calm in tone.

Sleeping Together / Bedtime (添い寝) — A scenario built around lying down together at bedtime, typically gentle and conversational rather than plot-heavy, and frequently paired with the Sleep Induction tag.

Healing (癒し) — A broad mood tag for comforting, restorative content — the opposite pole from tension- or drama-driven scenarios, prioritizing warmth and reassurance over narrative stakes.

Infatuation (溺愛 / Dekiai) — Doting, indulgent devotion — a character who spoils and adores the listener character without the instability that separates this from the Yandere tag above.

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For a deeper look at the moods and formats these terms describe in practice, our feature articles sort specific works by exactly these categories.