Questions tagged [loanwords]
外来語. Words brought into Japanese from languages other than Chinese.
229
questions
3
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2answers
76 views
ト and ツ in English loanwords
When it comes to gairaigo, every time there's a consonant cluster or a final one you generally add a -u to it. Glass=gurasu, plan=puran, story=sutoorii, wrestling=resuringu.
As far as I can tell, this ...
0
votes
1answer
84 views
Difference between 火花 and スパーク
When talking about sparks, what is the difference between 火花 and スパーク?
If I want to describe a spark of static electricity, which word is better to use?
Can either of these words be used ...
0
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1answer
136 views
Difference between 道化師, ピエロ, and クラウン
What’s the difference in usage between these three words?
ピエロ
クラウン
道化師
Which of these would describe a typical American’s notion of a circus clown?
type of clown I’m thinking of
Does one of these ...
0
votes
0answers
65 views
Kanji after gairaigo pronunciation [duplicate]
For instance, in "アカウントにサインイン中です。" How is "中" pronounced?
At a purely mental level, I've always maintained the idea that how you read is up to you, which seems to be backed by ...
3
votes
1answer
185 views
Did the medical mask exist in Japan before the arrival of the English?
The word for a medical "mask" is borrowed from the English language. Does this infer that these types of masks did not exist in Japan before the arrival of the English? If these masks did ...
1
vote
1answer
86 views
What is the difference between ギャンブラー, 博徒, and 博奕打ち?
I was looking up a character from a Japanese game whose profession/specialty was gambler and saw that the word used in Japanese was ギャンブラー. My general distaste for katakana-English inflamed, I looked ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
How to understand usage of ツ in words with a closed syllable?
We have words ペット、ベッド、ファックス、ピクニック.
The symbol ッ usually is indicated for doubling consonants or to indicate a closed syllable.
The question is why the word post (ポスト) was written without ッ before ト?
...
1
vote
2answers
196 views
How to read 艶肌 in 艶肌メイク
Question: How is the 艶肌 in 艶肌メイク ("glossy skin make-up") pronounced?
Context: An Instagram influencer used 艶肌メイク in one of their posts.
Background: I struggle with newly coined Japanese ...
6
votes
1answer
193 views
What was the movement of tea leaves called before it was called ジャンピング?
I recently learned that apparently the phenomenon of tea leaves moving up and down in very hot water is called ジャンピング (See example videos). This surprises me a bit as I would certainly expect that ...
1
vote
1answer
178 views
Why is there ベッドルーム when there's already 寝室? [duplicate]
I was trying to find house vocabulary and found multiple (from my perspective) synonyms (where the synonyms sounded like English). For example, ベッドルーム and 寝室, as well as キッチン and 台所, as well as バスルーム ...
4
votes
1answer
283 views
Meaning of "本ノック"?
I've seen some books with "本ノック" in the title, such as "Python実践データ分析100本ノック" and "有機化学1000本ノック 反応機構編" but can't figure out what it actually means.
I've also seen it used ...
3
votes
0answers
168 views
What is the reason for the odd vowel values of Japanese ココア?
I've done a bit of digging, and for the life of me, I cannot find any clear record or explanation for why Japanese ココア is pronounced the way it is.
Sources researched to date:
Lots of different ...
3
votes
1answer
128 views
Do [贈]{おく}り物 and プレゼント mean the same thing?
The use of loan words such as プレゼント are used much more just like カメラ is and such. So should i just disregard [贈]{おく}り物 and focus my memory on something else or do you know if [贈]{おく}り物 is still used ...
5
votes
1answer
139 views
Loanwords not being pronounced in a normal moraic rhythm?
Here's a spectogram of a speaker's rendition of “プロトタイプ” from English “prototype”, collected from Forvo
It should be clear from this spectogram that the pu-mora is pronounced in half a mora; the mora-...
5
votes
0answers
220 views
Do loanwords have quasi-phonemic vowel reduction?
I've started to notice this, and I'm not sure whether my eyes are deceiving me or not, but it seems as if several, but not all loans have a high statistical probability of vowels being reduced/...
1
vote
2answers
172 views
3
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1answer
220 views
Is ゼミ a synonym for a university class?
I know that ゼミ is short for ゼミナール (seminar), but the word seems to be used differently than how it's used in English. My guess from the times I've seen it used is that it's a catch-all term for ...
8
votes
4answers
4k views
Why is "Wikipedia" written as ウィキペディア instead of ワィキペディア?
The free online dictionary Wikipedia is called ウィキペディア in kana.
Why is it not called ワィキペディア? Which string of kana provides a pronunciation closer to the English word?
2
votes
2answers
618 views
Is there a Kanji for the Japanese word イクラ as in salmon roe?
I can't find anything in the dictionary.
My book gives the word in hiragana but the dictionary also shows katakana.
A quick google revealed that it is a loanword from Russian so katakana seems more ...
3
votes
1answer
918 views
What is the etymological origin of the word キノピオ (Toad in Super Mario Bros)?
I just found out the Toad character from the Super Mario Bros is known as キノピオ in Japan.
Where does that name come from? I know 茸 (きのこ) means mushroom, but what does the suffix -ピオ stand for?
Thanks ...
0
votes
2answers
232 views
Why are some Japanese foreign words spelled with different sounds?
Please consider the following:
Warrior is ウォリアー： this vowel sound "a" changes to ”オ"
Work is ワーク:this vowel sound "o" changes to "ア"
Chariot is チャリオット:this vowel sound "a" stays "ア"
Corridor is コリドー:...
3
votes
2answers
550 views
パドル -What does it actually mean?
I believe, many of you have already seen this meme.
In short, in a PlayStation game Fate/Extra an anime girl is singing Jingle bells-like song in Japanese:
走{はし}れ艝{そり}よ
風{かぜ}のように
月{ずき}見晴{みは}らを
...
14
votes
1answer
253 views
Did the Japanese have a concept of "Asia" apart from the Eurocentric definition?
Japan had contact with China, India and the Mongols, among others. Is there a term they used for Asia (in the sense of "land mass where China is" or such) before "アジア"?
9
votes
3answers
3k views
Is 人孔 from English?
I was discussing with a friend about the word 人孔, and I know I read (or was told) that it's taken from the English "manhole", literally juxtaposing the kanji for "man" with that for "hole", since for ...
13
votes
1answer
400 views
Why is デレる ichidan? (Etymology of デレる and デレデレ)
I thought modern slangy verbs coined from onomatopoeia and loanwords were all godan verbs (for example, ググる, コピる, ピヨる, ボコる). This has been asked several times:
What are the principles behind turning ...
0
votes
1answer
89 views
Correct translation for application user roles
I'm working on an application which has user roles such as "admin", "customer", "contractor"and would like to add localisation to the app.
On my main menu I have:
Users
Roles
Tenants
and the ...
1
vote
1answer
898 views
Native Japanese vocabulary, pure Wago/Yamato Kotoba
Can you still speak Japanese while avoiding to use most Chinese loan words? The native portion of the Japanese language is called Yamato Kotoba or Wago, but how fluent could you still be without the ...
0
votes
1answer
213 views
How to know whether a word is borrowed from foreign languages?
If I want to translate the word "card" into Japanese, there's only one word in Katakana in Google Translation: カード. If I search the relevant Chinese word "卡片", there's still only one single result カード
...
7
votes
1answer
3k views
Why is beatboxing called 「ヒューマンビートボックス」?
I was watching TV when the topic turned to certain celebrities' ability to beatbox. In talking about this every mention of the term beatbox was
ヒューマンビートボックス.
Why is human necessary?
The use of ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
What term would be used for words that are borrowed from Japanese and used in other languages?
Many Japanese words are used in other languages, sushi, anime, karaoke, tsunami....
Is there a term to identify these words? I am familiar with terms such as 外来語 to indicate loanwords borrowed from ...
1
vote
2answers
132 views
At what age is a person considered to be シルバー?
I read this term in an online article and it was referring to people. I assume it means elderly people. Is there an age that one must be to use this term?
9
votes
3answers
359 views
Looking to understand a fantasy name
This is related to Beyblade, regarding a team exclusive to a game that didn't get translated to English. Each blader has their own holy beast to command and I'm not getting the name of one of them.
...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
1
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1answer
301 views
What's the origin of the title 親王?
As far as I know, prior to the adoption of the title "Emperor" in ancient China by Shihuangdi (who claimed to be the first 皇帝 (huangdi), from the titles of 8 ancient godly beings), 王 was the sole ...
1
vote
1answer
138 views
Why ロサンゼルス and not ロスアンゼルス but ロスアラモス and not ロサラモス？
Is there a rule as to when to keep the articles like San,Las, Los,La, Le (L'), Les (yes, my dear Dutch, not forgetting Den), in names on separate katakanas? Sometimes there is no choice, like in Las ...
5
votes
2answers
997 views
Are on’yomi words loanwords?
this is probably a silly question, but since words with multiple kanji are usually read with on’yomi would that effectively make most japanese vocabulary loanwords? like 森林 or 図書館？i understand ...
6
votes
1answer
668 views
How to pronounce 1ターン?
I've seen the phrase 1ターン1度 "once per turn" used in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Card game, so it seems like ターン is a legit counter. But I'm not sure how to pronounce it. From what I've googled so far, some people ...
0
votes
1answer
687 views
Transcription and pronunciation of words that had "wi" in them in English and are「ウィ」in Japanese
I was looking up how the name Will Smith is pronounced and written in Japanese. Why does "Will" become 「ウィル」? I would have expected ワ to be used instead for the first sound.
I found mentions of the "...
1
vote
1answer
162 views
Etymology of bateren (伴天連 / 破天連)
The archaic Japanese word bateren 伴天連 / 破天連 (referring to a missionary [Jesuit] priest) is derived from the Portuguese padre.
The Portuguese word notably does not contain or end in a nasal consonant, ...
1
vote
3answers
395 views
Unvoiced vowels in katakana: special case?
When foreign words or proper names are used in Japanese, some modifications are necessary, in particular a lot of vowels are introduced. E.g. 'plastic' (two syllables) becomes プラスチック (five). In this ...
3
votes
1answer
145 views
Is the adjective インディペンデント actually used as an adjective?
I saw a movie labeled
インディペンデント作品
The adjective インディペンデント does not end in i and is followed by neither na nor no here. Is this meant as a strange compound noun (katakana + kanji)? Or is this a ...
5
votes
1answer
401 views
Why are there very few non-する gairaigo verbs in Japanese?
I can think of many gairaigo noun + する verbs in Japanese, like ゴルフする, but I can think of only a handful of non-する verbs in Japanese, such as ググる (mentioned in Are there words which consist of katakana ...
2
votes
1answer
449 views
How did スマート (from 'smart' in English) shift to mean 'slim, trim' and 'stylish'?
I first learned of this loanword on /r/FalseFriends. Wiktionary:
Etymology
From English smart.
Adjectival noun
スマート (-na inflection, rōmaji sumāto)
slim, trim,
slender
stylish
What type of semantic ...
1
vote
1answer
77 views
なんだこの「ギャラリー」？ What does he mean by gallery?
Panel this is taken from for context. This is commentary about a school go tournament that will start soon.
あれ おまえも見にきたの？
なんかギャラリー多いな
海王中囲碁部はトップレベルだもん
見なきゃソンだよ
My translation attempt:
Oh, you came ...
2
votes
1answer
264 views
What are the common practice of reading names of modern Chinese people?
From what I've seen from the Japanese Wikipedia, names of communist figures (Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Xi Jinping) seem to be read with on'yomi (Mou Takutou, Tou Shouhei, Shuu Kinpei). On the other ...
13
votes
2answers
568 views
Transitive English words becoming intransitive 外来語
While reading naruto's answer to Difference in sentences (と and に）, I realized that although キス is an intransitive verb in Japanese, the English kiss is almost always used as a transitive verb. Some ...
5
votes
1answer
186 views
Loanwords related to science
I speak fluent English, Ukrainian and Russian. And I also have experience learning German and Japanese. As an avid language learner, I've been reflecting on what the languages have in common, their ...
-1
votes
2answers
104 views
Does プレゼント have both English meanings or just the "gift" meaning?
Present in English means both gift, and it also mean the current (present) time. Japanese online examples and translation seem to omit this second meaning. Does プレゼント have both English meanings or ...
1
vote
2answers
288 views
Does マンション also mean "luxurious house" in Japanese?
According to Jisho.org/mansion and Japanese Core 1000 マンション in Japanese means "apartment, condominium, residential building". But in English where the word might come from, it also refers to a large ...
13
votes
3answers
3k views
Does ガス also mean gasoline in Japanese?
What are the meanings of ガス in Japanese?
I'm asking because in English it can be used for either "a substance in a form like air that is neither solid nor liquid" or, for gasoline, the liquid fuel. ...