Tagged Questions
2
votes
1answer
192 views
Why aren't マンション mansions? Or are they?
And no, this isn't about property sizes in Japan!
As Katakana Mysteries: 6 loan words Japan got wrong put it:
Bill Gates or Warren Buffet might be very surprised if they were to
buy a Japanese ...
7
votes
1answer
217 views
Why is Jordan (the country) spelt ヨルダン?
I recently found out that Jordan (the country) is spelt ヨルダン, not ジョーダン, which is how it's spelt in a person's name.
Is this based on how it's pronounced in Arabic and/or Hebrew, or how it's ...
9
votes
2answers
272 views
What is the breakdown of countries where loan words originate?
Is there any general idea of what percentage of loan words come from which languages? I always thought the majority of them came from English, but I keep seeing more and more that originated in ...
12
votes
3answers
345 views
Why is “Xy” pronounced as “Ki Shi” in Xylitol「キシリトール」?
Why is "Xy" pronounced as "[Ki Shi]{キ シ}" in [Xylitol]{キシリトール}?
I believe "Xy" can pronounced as "Zai", which is probably a valid sound in Japanese.
I would like to know its etymology too, if there ...
0
votes
0answers
252 views
What is Boruto Tekusuchaa? [closed]
What is Boruto Tekusuchaa? It is kind of a dress. That is all I know. can someone help with identifying it? I think it has some sort of tibetian influence.
4
votes
1answer
143 views
Does 被【かぶ】る have any relation to “cover”?
Topic. I've heard/seen somewhere that 被【かぶ】る was "gairaigo-fied" (?) from the English word "cover" (similar to ダブる or デモる), and then presumably given ateji from 被【おお】う since the meanings overlap so ...
9
votes
1answer
220 views
Why did オレンジ replace 橙【だいだい】?
This question about colours got me thinking:
Why, and how, did オレンジ come to replace 橙【だいだい】 to refer to the colour orange?
It seems weird to me that a 外来語【がいらいご】(word taken from a foreign language) ...
7
votes
3answers
338 views
Are there any common Japanese words which were borrowed from Ainu or other indigenous languages?
I know plenty of Japanese words that came from English and a few from other European languages (obviously tons from Chinese), but what about words from Japan's indigenous languages such as Ainu? Also ...
13
votes
2answers
327 views
Where does the word ダイヤ come from that means “train schedule”?
For the longest time I've been hearing the word ダイヤ and just always assumed it meant "Diamond", but found recently it all means "train schedule". My question is, what word/language did this word ...
11
votes
4answers
556 views
Are there any old loanwords from Korean, especially any not written in katakana?
Given the close proximity and long history of interaction of various kinds within East Asia, the great influence of Chinese in both Japanese and Korean, and the similar structures of Japanese and ...
12
votes
2answers
292 views
What is the meaning and root of 意味くじピーマン?
Recently a friend of mine threw the term 意味くじピーマン (imi kuji pi-man) into a story she was telling, and it totally threw me off. At first I thought, because I wasn't sure how to parse the くじ part, it ...
