聾者（ろうしゃ） looks like 龍（たつ・りゅう / dragon）＋耳（みみ / ear）then 者（しゃ/person）

Etymology-wise, it seems the “dragon” part was added just for the pronunciation, not because of dragons.

It means:

“Deaf person”.

That said, 耳の不自由な人（みみのふじゆうなひと / not-free-ear people）・耳が聞こえない人（みみがきこえないひと / ears-can’t-hear people）・聴覚障害者（ちょうかくしょうがいしゃ / hearing disabled people） might be more common terms. Deaf people themselves prefer 聾者 - and I can see why! Who wouldn’t want to be a dragon eared person? I like the character.

  • e_t_@kbin.pithyphrase.net
    4·
    9 months ago

    Leaving the dragon angle to one side, the other options presented are a bit ableist. I don’t know if ableism is a consideration in Japanese society.

    • Nihongo@lemmy.worldOP
      2·
      9 months ago

      a bit ableist Yea, they sound that way to me, too. I’m not sure what Japanese people think.

      But, either way I like the character聾!