NANOSHIP

In fandom and relationship chats, nanoship means a very small or obscure romantic connection between two characters or people. It combines "nano" (tiny) with "ship" (relationship) and is mostly used in online fandom spaces like Tumblr, Reddit, or Discord, to jokingly refer to relationships so small they're microscopic: the rarest of the rare – a "microscopic ship" that only a few fans love, but which is often cherished passionately.

Nanoship crossed into the mainstream around late 2024 /early 2025. The term is now used to refer to those momentary sparks of connection we sometimes feel, perhaps prompted by a shared smile with a stranger on the metro or a quick chat in the queue for coffee. It's also used to humorously downplay romantic interest, like having a silly crush on someone you barely know.

As it is formed by merging two terms into one, nanoship is a portmanteau word. It is a combination of the words nano ("very small, minute") and relationship. Portmanteaus are efficient and catchy. They're a type of linguistic efficiency that could have been made for internet culture (though they weren't).