This is a list of various terms used in the series Hetalia, or on this Wiki, that may need clarification, whether that be their definitions or significance in relation to history and other aspects of the world.
**Note: This page is outdated/needs revamping
Nation[]
The major Hetalia characters are Nations. They are the immortal personifications of their culture and their people. When used in this context on this wiki, the word "Nation" will be capitalized the sake of differentiating the immortal entity characters from just talking about the country/nation itself.
Age[]
A Nation's aging process seems to depend on the size of their country's territory size, wealth, power, independence, and other factors. It should also be noted that existence on Earth does not play a significant role in a Nation's age, and should not be used as an excuse to "age up" anyone.
A newborn country is always shown as a young child, no matter how much power and wealth they have at the time, and their age progresses from there. However, the rate at which Nations age differs for each, with some Nations growing extremely quickly (such as America and Australia, while others have remained children for over a thousand years (such as Iceland and Luxembourg).
Examples of this the series include:
- Right before the American Revolution, America experienced dramatic age progression (and became taller than England) in an extremely short amount of time due to the Independence movement and rapid development.
- Sealand ages extremely slowly due to his small territory and the fact that he is not independent. It is also possible that Sealand's fame contributed to him not being as young as he potentially could have been without the fame.
- This is also why all of the other appear as children/teenagers, and part of why Hutt River and Molossia look older than Sealand despite being born later (they have much larger territories)
- In a nightmare England had, Sealand suddenly grew taller than England due to a change in the earth crust that caused a landmass to rise up beneath the platform, thus making him a real country. Shown in the strip This Kind Of Sealand is OO.
- In the original webcomic prologue strip to Chibitalia, it was said that the younger North Italy (Veneziano) did not age along with France and Spain due to the fact that he spent his time painting rather than conquering. It appears that being conquered himself also slowed his aging process down (until he managed to hit puberty one day).
- A footnote in the same story implies that South Italy (Romano)'s growth also possibly slowed because of being under Spain's rule. However, in the earlier-drawn Hetalia strips, Romano was shown to be somewhat taller than Veneziano (as both an adult and child).
- Greece appeared to be a small child while under Ottoman rule, but is shown to have grown up after becoming independent. But in a volume 3 strip, it is suggested that he at least aged to his teens at some point while with Turkey.
- TRNC in Hetalia the CD is said to be unable to grow up like his brother Cyprus, because he is not recognized by anyone but Turkey.
Boss[]
(The same text here is stated again here When a Nation refers to their "boss", this most likely means their current leader/head of state, such as a president, monarch, prime minister, or other leader. They do not appear frequently in Hetalia but are shown during the times of their term/reign and often interact with their respective Nation. Many figures have been named rather than shown. In addition, a number are unnamed in the source material, but who they are supposed to be can be indicated by their appearance or by when the comic takes place.
Leaders are aware of their country being represented by an immortal human entity, but despite that, they often treat their Nation(s) as a subordinate. There have been many instances depicted of leaders withholding information from their Nation, not listening to their Nation, or giving their Nation orders they are supposed to obey even if they do not wish to do so. Nations do not seem to be able to disobey these orders, and often do have different opinions or desires from their leaders or do disobey orders, however, fear and force have sometimes been used to keep them in line. Nations themselves also are shown to not have much control over actual government decisions, usually having little to no power at all in choices that will impact the country. They may talk to/advise their leaders, but humans make the decisions and Nations are often unable to resist.
It does depend on the Nation and time period, but several Nations are often involved in matters of the government and/or military and work alongside their leader(s). In the present day they seem to do a lot of diplomatic work with each other. However, some leaders have limited or prevented their Nations' from doing certain things, or have forced them to do things, one such act being arranging actual marriages between Nations based on political unions.
Body Pain[]
The Nations tend to feel pain when a power struggle happens in their government or land. The Nations may also feel pain when a disaster occurs, such as when Japan experiences stomach pain during the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.
Catching A Cold[]
When a Nation's economy goes through a recession or any other sort of crisis, it causes them to catch a cold.
Examples in the series include:
- England was the first character shown to experience this, while America had no clue what a "cold" even was.
- When America later catches a cold, it quickly becomes contagious and spreads to other nations.
Family[]
- Main article: Relatives
What exactly makes Nations share blood relation is not directly stated by Himaruya, but it seems to happen if countries share a very close history and/or culture, or are part of the same ethnic group. Adopted familial relations also exist within Hetalia.
Please see the linked page for a list of every confirmed familial relationship as well as a list of common misconceptions.
Language[]
The Nations are said to speak different languages at various times, including their own. But Himaruya has also stated that they all share one specific universal language that they can understand. He also said that it would be hard for newborn or isolated Nations to understand other Nations when communicating without this universal magical language they all automatically can speak and understand.
Some Nations show preferences to languages other than their own when communicating. Iceland, for example, is somewhat embarrassed by his thick accent and hard-to-understand language and speaks in English whenever possible. France, on the other hand, does not like speaking English and even does not to bother to remember it.
Marriage[]
Used to signify two nations unifying and becoming one, as in the case of Austria and Hungary, who married with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise. However, their union proved to be short-lived. It is also stated that Austria had many other marriages, one of these other unions is briefly alluded to in canon when he chastises Spain for wanting to bring bigamy into their household (as they were united under the Habsburgs).
Examples in the series include:
- Lithuania and Poland, married with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1569-1795.
- In Dream United Kingdom, the war-torn France proposed marriage to England, but was shot down.
- In The Violent Su-san of Northern Europe Takes a Swing, Sweden claims Finland to be his wife, much to Finland's surprise, because they were an entity at the time.
- But there are several other cases of unions in the series not specifically depicted or referred to as marriage, one such instance being the unification of the Italy brothers as the Kingdom Of Italy.
Roommate[]
A nation having been annexed or put under the control of another in some fashion.
Examples in the series include:
- Austria having to live with Germany (due to Germany's "boss" ordering it)
- Russia's control over Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus as part of the Soviet Union. It is also shown that he forced Prussia (as East Germany) to live with him during this time too, despite East Germany not being part of the Soviet Union.
- Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark living together (at least some of the time) during the Kalmar Union.
- North Italy coming under the control of Holy Roman Empire (along with Austria, Hungary, and some other nations).
- Prussia moving into Germany's house after he lost his official position as a nation and became the Eastern half of Germany.
- Lithuania living in America's house for some time as a housekeeper in the Lithuania's out-sourcing series, though this is a reference to many Lithuanian immigrants coming to America during this time.
Sickness[]
Intense political situations may cause nations to become ill, as well as disasters in their homeland. Examples in the series include:
- Russia cursed Japan, which eventually resulted in him coming down with an illness at the same time as the "Great Kanto Earthquake".
- In The Long-Awaited Deep Emotion Is Ruined, England became deathly-ill after his experimental Panjandrum project failed and exploded.
Himaruya has also stated that bad weather may also cause nations to feel ill, such as if it rained too much. It was also said that such an occurrence would vary among different nations, along with their body temperature.
Vital Regions[]
A term often used as a double entendre in reference to nations' capitals and states, as well as their actual genitalia.
Examples in the series include:
- Prussia threatened to invade Austria and later did so, taking Silesia for himself and angering Hungary in the process. When Austria announced that Prussia had seized his vital regions, Maria Theresa responded that there were better ways of saying it.
- Spain had a nightmare of the grown-up Romano "crushing" his after jumping down on him.
- Lithuania also used the term in another strip, when he played chess with Poland.
Death/Disappearing[]
Usually when the culture or the country's personality dies/disappears, the country would gradually disappear or entrust him/herself to the country that takes him/her over.
There are also cases that he/she is not a country but continuously to live as a representation of a region.
Examples of this include:
- Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Tibet are part of the People's Republic of China.
- Prussia lives with Germany after losing his official title as a nation.
There is only one instance of a country becoming a human when they dissolve. This happened to the original Niko Niko Republic, who was a human child who became a micronation, something Japan is shocked about because it had never happened before. When Niko Niko dissolved, he went back to being a human and is now an adult with a child. This is an outlier and has never happened to any other characters.