Questions tagged [loanwords]
外来語. Words brought into Japanese from languages other than Chinese.
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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 ...
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1answer
89 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 ...
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853 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
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616 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 ...
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1answer
136 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 "...
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1answer
98 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, ...
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186 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 ...
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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 ...
6
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1answer
163 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 ...
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154 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
...
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63 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 ...
3
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1answer
144 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 ...
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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 ...
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163 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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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176 views
Is there a list of official valid loanwords or they are adapted on the fly from their original languages?
In Spanish there is an entity, the Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española) which states what is a valid spanish word or not.
In Japanese, I've read the Japanese Ministry of Education has an ...
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Which language レシート is adapted from?
レシート is supposed to mean receipt. The adaptation of the word looks a bit odd to me. If it comes from English, why does it lose the "p"? Why it uses a "shii" sound instead of a "ce" (to me there are ...
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126 views
Can any nationality be expressed by adding + jin to the country name?
So, many country nationalities are written by adding +jin to the country name like
Itaria-jin イタリア人 , Oranda-jin オランダ人, Kanada-jin カナダ人,
Supein-jin スペイン人 , etc.
but there are some like american who ...
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1answer
82 views
Convert Japanese Style English Font to Normal(?) English Font [closed]
This might be computer science related question.
I am manipulating Japanese data and in some Japanese words, there are English words and Numbers are in.
ＳＹＳＫＥＮ, 松井ケ丘３, コメリＨ＆Ｇ, 篠路７－１ are the examples....
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How do you describe something “spicy”?
When I typed "spicy natto" on Google Translate, I got this:
スパイシーな納豆
Here are two things that confused me:
1) why do we need な?
2) why not use 辛い?
Does anyone know?
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How would I know whether a word existed and was commonly used N years ago?
Suppose I'm writing a novel that takes place N years ago, say N = 80. Given the dramatic increase of loanwords in the past century, especially from English, what would be the best way (if there is any)...
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248 views
Is there a defined cause for the recent rise in the popularity of gairaigo?
I was looking on the web for Japanese graphic design and found some pre-WWII material. Then I saw some more recent advertisement material. Comparing the two eras, I notice a difference that was beyond ...
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222 views
When are foreign language based words written with kanjis?
I was reading the wikia of an anime and I found this,
Red Riot Unbreakable 烈怒頼雄斗安無嶺過武瑠
(レッドライオットアンブレイカブル)
(Reddo Raiotto Anbureikaburu)
The name of a ...
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what's the difference in usage between gairaigo and wago? [duplicate]
Please help me to understand how and when english-derived words are used in modern Japanese?
I understand that ko-hi and garasu didn't exist in Japan, so there are no Japanese words for them. But I ...
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1answer
243 views
Why did the 黄色い線 become the 黄色いブロック?
Until a few months ago, I am absolutely sure in every single train station I had ever been the announcement was something along the lines of "黄色い線の内側でお待ちください".
Then, out of the blue, one day the word ...
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1answer
762 views
Should you say English loanwords in the Japanese pronunciation?
For example, if an American travels to Japan, would they ask for "kohi" in a "koppu", maybe a "foku" for their "supagetti", or would they use "coffee", "fork", etc.?
Which would be more socially ...
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1answer
175 views
Could ベビーカー be derived from “Baby carriage”?
Most etymologies I've come across for "ベビーカー" assume that it's wasei eigo based on a combination of "baby" (ベビー) and "car" (the "カー" part of "マイカー"). For example, the Japanese edition of Wikipedia ...
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1answer
196 views
Are there differences in meaning for 「ワイルド」 and 'wild'?
The word ワイルド is generally translated as 'wild' in English. Of course there are many instances where this is the appropriate translation. But I feel like there is a wider range of meanings in Japanese ...
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1answer
131 views
Is ワンサイズ a valid Japanese word?
Japanese For Busy People volume II, revised third edition, on page 23 has
To state or ask how much bigger, you use other words.
ワンサイズ大きいのはありませんか。
Do you have one that is a size bigger?
However,...
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2answers
486 views
Attempts to distinguish English “L” and “R” sounds using (extended) katakana
Katakana can represent many foreign sounds that do not exist in native Japanese words, either by using special characters such as ヴ or by using special katakana combinations such as フュ. They are ...
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Is there an opposite of gairaigo, covering both kango and wago?
Is there a term that means that something isn't gairaigo, words recently derived from (predominantly European) foreign languages?
For example, I'd like to say that 踊り is a non-gairaigo word, which ...
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1answer
150 views
Meaning of ブラック in this sentence about work
A Japanese friend that works as a teacher told me he wants to quit his job and come to work in Europe. I asked why and he answered:
EUに行くのが夢。 あと、日本社会の中でも教える仕事はスーパーブラック
What is the meaning of ブラック ...
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Why Was Jaguar Borrowed as ジャガー?
It's listed as being borrowed from English, but even if it were the case that it had been borrowed from Portuguese, it's still pronounced /ɡwɑɹ/ and not /ɡɑɹ/. Japanese phonology is also perfectly ...
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1answer
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Why does ボウル use a vowel kana rather than a long vowel mark?
It seems like both ボウル and ボール are valid Japanese words. The general impression I get is that using long vowel marks ("ー") are the norm for words written in katakana.
In Why are long vowels ...
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Is マネージャー suitable when describing a manager working in a large business?
In Fluent Forever's Awesome Word List, マネージャー is used to describe a manager in a bank or similar organisation.
However, doing a search with the basic version of google image search mainly got middle-...
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Meaning and translation of "プラスアルファ”
A friend asked me to translate into English a short text. The context is Tokyo being a global city where people gather and experience a variety of lifestyles and values (価値観), and where art, culture, ...
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Anime or Animation?
I was reading an article about loan words and came across anime(Anime アニメ ---- animation). I later talked with one of my Japanese-speaking friends, and he did not recognize the word anime, he ...
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Meaning of スイッチ in the following sentence
Context: in a boxing match, boxer A is fighting against the particularly tough boxer B. Even after having taken a lot of punches, boxer B is still standing. During a break, the trainer of boxer A says:...
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997 views
Is there a list of Japanese characters that don't have equivalent roots in Chinese? [duplicate]
According to this answer:
Almost all Japanese characters (in my experience >99%) are exist in Chinese. Few are changed a little, like 宮 and 宫. As a Chinese, I have no difficulty in recognizing ...
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1answer
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Why is 犬 used to refer to “dog” in Japanese?
In Chinese there are two words that refer to "dog" - 狗 and 犬. In most use cases 狗 is more frequently used, as it refers to a specific dog.
In Japanese however, 犬 is used exclusively. Did 狗 exist in ...
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1answer
263 views
Why is Qantas spelt カンタス?
At first I thought that Japanese people pronouncing Qantas as カンタス was an urban legend (the start of "カンタス" matches a vulgar four letter word in English), but I've since found out that it's real, with ...
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1answer
63 views
Difference in usage of 新しい and ニュー
Both of these words can be used to mean 'new', but one is loaned from English.
I recall hearing somewhere that ニュー became a loanword because it has a slightly different meaning to 新しい, but what ...
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Does “クラッシュ” correspond to both the English words “crash” and “crush”?
I've occasionally seen native speakers of Japanese refer to a "crush" rather than a "crash" in English-language bug reports.
Is "クラッシュ" the main way of transcribing into katakana not only the English ...
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What differences are there between the English word “memo” and the Japanese word “メモ”?
What differences, if any, are there between the English word "memo" and the Japanese word "メモ"?
Does the Japanese word "メモ" have connotations to do with memorisation or memory that don't exist with ...
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982 views
Is 私はコリアンダーにアレルギーがある an accurate translation?
I'm going to Japan in a week, and I'd like to be able to convey the fact that I am (very) allergic to coriander. Google Translate gave me:
私はコリアンダーにアレルギーがある
to be pronounced as:
Watashi wa ...
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1answer
208 views
Can anyone confirm チックン is Kyushu-ben for チングイ and give its scientific name?
In southern Kyushu, you hear people speak of a biting bug called チックン that lurks in shallow water near beaches. Researching the word a bit comes up with the more standard term チングイ, and it appears to ...
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2answers
144 views
買い込む - Stock up drinks for the party
To "stock up" on something (in a sense of buying a large amount of something) could 買い込む be used? Or is there another way to say this, like ストックする？
I feel that both can be used, depending on the ...
