Friday, December 23, 2016

Learning Japanese Is Not That Hard

Say you like manga and anime, things made in Japan, in Japanese. One day you feel a calling: you got to learn Japanese, because you love this stuff, and this stuff is in Japanese. Not knowing Japanese hinders your ability to enjoy the content one hundred percent. Then you start... and everyone tells you learning Japanese is too hard and learning it just for manga is a really stupid idea. That may not be exactly true.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

On'yomi & Kun'yomi 音読み, 訓読み

When you start learning Japanese, more specifically, the kanji 漢字, the day always arrives when you hear something about the readings kun'yomi 訓読み and on'yomi 音読み but you still have no idea what they exactly mean. So, in this post, I'll explain what is kun'yomi, what is on'yomi, and what's their importance in the language.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Names of Sports in Japanese

There are a lot of animes about sports, for some strange reason, and we all love to watch them showing the characters' hard work and sweat pay off while we're comfortably seated behind the screen. But what are those sports called in Japanese?

Friday, November 11, 2016

furigana

In Japanese, furigana 振り仮名 is a text written next to a certain character, word, or phrase, that shows how you're supposed to read it. It's also called "ruby text," rubi ルビ (the opposite being base text), or "reading aid," although it also has some non-reading-aid, creative uses.

For example: 今日日(きょうび) shows the word kyoubi 今日日, "these days," "in modern times," which has kanji 漢字 characters. Inside parentheses is the furigana: k-yo-u-biうび, showing how the word is read using hiragana ひらがな characters.

A diagram of what is furigana, showing hiragana readings on kanji.
Thursday, November 3, 2016

Fighting Styles in Japanese

Have you ever wondered how a fighting style is written in Japanese? Like boxing... or kickboxing... or chinese kickboxing... or drunken, chinese kickboxing? Or maybe how karate is written in Japanese? Well, worry no more, I've compiled a list of those names for you.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Your Name in Japanese - How to Translate and Write

A question anime fans often ask themselves is "how do I write my name in Japanese?" Sure there is a way? Maybe you can write your name with kanji, maybe not, maybe it changes, maybe not. Well, either way, I'm here to teach you how to translate names to Japanese properly. The right way.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

chigau 違う - Meaning in Japanese

In Japanese, chigau 違う means literally "to differ," but it's typically used to say someone got something "wrong," to say it "is different" from what they said, to deny what someone said, i.e. to say "no" in Japanese.

いや・・・・・・・・・・・・ ちがうって・・・・・・・・・ 人間・・・・・・・・・ 人間・・・・・・・・・・・・ 僕は・・・・・・・・・・・・
Manga: Ajin 亜人 (Chapter 1, 発覚とその後の行動について)
Friday, October 28, 2016

shitsurei 失礼

In Japanese, shitsurei 失礼 means "impolite," in the sense someone has done something impolite, but it can also mean "excuse me," in the sense you've done or are about to do something that may be impolite. (e.g. enter a room, leave a room, etc.)

・・・え 何スか? そいつ攻めて来た宇宙人か何かスか? 失礼な! 生まれも育ちも地球ですよ
Manga: "Assassination Classroom," Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 暗殺教室 (Chapter 1, 暗殺の時間)
Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Ageru, Kureru, Morau あげる, くれる, もらう

Those learning Japanese sooner or later come across these three words: ageru 上げる, kureru くれる and morau 貰う, and then across this problem: what's the difference between ageru, kureru and morau? Are their meanings the same or what?
Monday, October 24, 2016

Nihon vs. Nippon - Meaning

Have you ever heard the word nippon 日本 in an anime? Maybe you thought you heard it, maybe you thought you misheard nihon 日本, which sounds almost the same. Well, the thing is, both nihon and nippon are actual, separate words in the Japanese language, though they are pretty much alike.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Nihon and Nihongo - Meaning in Japanese

Have you ever heard the words nihon 日本 and nihongo 日本語 and wondered exactly what they meant? Obviously, they are words from Japan, they are in Japanese and they have something in common. Rest assured, their meanings are nothing too difficult.

irasshai いらっしゃい

In Japanese, irasshai いらっしゃい, meaning literally "come," is an expression used to welcome someone in a house or establishment. It's an abbreviation of irasshaimase いらっしゃいませ.

To welcome someone in a new place or group, youkoso ようこそ is used instead, and to welcome someone back home, okaeri おかえり is used instead.

扉を開けるとそこはホスト部でした いらっしゃいませ♥
Manga: Ouran High School Host Club, Ouran Koukou Hosuto-Bu 桜蘭高校ホスト部 (Chapter 1)

itterasshai いってらっしゃい

In Japanese, itterasshai いってらっしゃい, meaning literally "go and come back," is an expression used when saying goodbye to someone leaving home to go to school, work, etc., specially after the person leaving says itte-kimasu 行ってきます.

When they return, they'd say tadaima ただいま, to be greeted with okaeri おかえり.

It's also spelled 行ってらっしゃい.

LN

In the west, LN means "light novel," and LNs mean "light novels." In Japanese, "light novel," or raito-noberu ライトノベル, is abbreviated to ranobe ラノベ, not to LN.

As for what a light novel is: it's a kind of novel that generally features anime-esque themes and is targeted at teenager and young adult audiences.
Saturday, October 15, 2016

nyaa

In Japanese, nya にゃ, nyan にゃん, or nyaa にゃー (also spelled にゃあ and にゃぁ), or "nyah," are onomatopoeia that mean "meow," the sound that cats make. That is, in order to say "meow" in Japanese, one of those words are used.

They can also be spelled with katakana, as ニャ, ニャン, ニャー, ニャア, and ニャァ. And there are other variants, too, like myaa みゃー.

Examples of nyaa にゃー, nya ニャ, nyan にゃん being used in Japanese.
Manga: K-On!, Keion! けいおん! (Volume 2)
Manga: Doll-Kara, どるから (Chapter 1)
Manga: Nyan Koi! にゃんこい! (Chapter 17)
Friday, October 14, 2016

fanservice ファンサービス

In anime, fanservice, or "fan service," is a scene featuring a girl in swimsuit, or with clothes ripped apart, or depicting a glimpse of her panties, or naked in the bath, in a shower, in hot springs, or wearing a bunny suit, or nurse costume, or tied up, in bondage, or restrained in a dungeon cell, or something involving tentacles, or... anyway. It's that sort of stuff. Specially when found in an anime that's not supposed to be about that sort of stuff.

Note that fanservice is way more complicated than just that. It doesn't need to be a "girl" in swimsuit, it can be a guy. The content can be something so specific only men of culture would get it's fanservice, most people wouldn't even realize. It doesn't be a scene, it can be a design. It doesn't need to be anime, there's also fanservice in real life.

Akane Shinjou 新条アカネ swimsuit fanservice stitch.
Character: Shinjou Akane 新条アカネ
Anime: SSSS Gridman (Episode 5, Stitch)

Word for Spoilers in Japanese?

Everyone hates spoilers. Manga spoilers. Anime spoilers. TV spoilers. Game spoilers. We all know that spoilers spoil everything, so we avoid them like the plague as we chant the word to protected ourselves: "spoilers! spoilers!" But how do you even say that word in Japanese?

Thursday, October 13, 2016

ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu 忍術, 体術, 幻術 - Meaning in Japanese

In the manga and anime Naruto ナルト, ninjutsu 忍術, taijutsu 体術, and genjutsu 幻術 (also romanized ninjitsu, taijitsu, genjitsu) are similar-sounding terms referring to how the ninjas fight. In this article, I'll explain what they mean in Japanese.

これは・・・・若き日の我が姿・・・・ いかなる幻術でしょうか?
Manga: Ya Boy Kongming!, Paripi Koumei パリピ孔明 (Chapter 1, 孔明、渋谷に降り立つ。)

sugoi すごい, 凄い

In Japanese, sugoi すごい, also spelled sugoi 凄い, means something is "incredible," so incredible it can be "unbelievable" or "awesome" or "amazing," and, sometimes, "horrific." It's an adjective, but it's often used as an expression, making it tricky to translate but easy to interpret.

Third Person Pronouns

The "third person pronouns" in Japanese, san'ninshou daimeishi 三人称代名詞, are a bit complicated.

The words kare and kanojo 彼女 mean "he" and "she," respectively, but they also mean "boyfriend" and "girlfriend," respectively.

There's no "it" pronoun in Japanese.

Often, someone is referred to in third person neutrally, by the noun phrase "that person," ano hito あの人, ano ko あの子, or aitsu あいつ. Sometimes, by yatsu やつ, which refers to an individual person or thing.

Japanese is a pronoun dropping language, which means there are sentences you'd use "he" or "she" in English that you wouldn't use a pronoun in Japanese.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Why Japanese Can't Speak English?

Watching anime in Japanese, I'm sure you've already seen some obscene Engrish word like reberu レベル, "level," thrown around and it made you think: why can't the Japanese speak English? Are they just really, really, really lazy? Do they like their Japanese language better than English? Or what? What's the reason for this travesty?

人, hito, nin, jin, ~bito, ~ri, ~to

In Japanese, hito, nin, jin, ~bito, ~ri, ~to are different readings of a same kanji, and the meaning of that kanji is "person," so hito, nin, jin, etc. all mean "person" in one way or another. In this article, I'll explain the differences between them and how they're used.

The 人 kanji, meaning "person," and three of its readings: hito ひと, jin じん, and nin にん.

(don't mistake 人 with 入火六大犬水氷木本夫矢天来美奏欒爨, none of which have anything to do with it.)

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Counting in Japanese

Have you ever wondered how do anime characters count things in Japanese? How do these Japanese numbers work and everything else? It all starts with ichi 一, ni 二, san 三, right? Or was it hitotsu 一つ, futatsu 二つ and mittsu 三つ? What's the difference? Is there a difference?? What do these words really mean?! How do you even count in Japanese???

natsu, haru, fuyu, aki 夏, 春, 冬, 秋

The words natsu , haru , fuyu and aki are often heard in anime as they are usually the Japanese characters' names. I'm sure you know one character or other called haru, and perhaps called natsu, or aki, but do these words have any other meaning you should know about in Japanese? Yeah, well, they do.

saakuru サークル

In Japanese, a "circle," or saakuru サークル, is a group of people that share a same interest or hobby. There are two notable kinds: the circles that are school clubs, and the characters in anime join because they like a certain activity, and doujin 同人 circles, which publish anime-related stuff.

This is about the katakanization of "circle," which is used in a different way from English, i.e. it's wasei-eigo 和製英語. The word for a geometric "circle" in Japanese is maru 丸.

doujinshi 同人誌

In Japanese, doujinshi 同人誌 means a "fanzine," an indie manga 漫画, which may or may not be a derivative work, a parody featuring characters whose copyright is owned by someone else. It's also romanized dōjinshi, dojinshi, douzinsi, dōzinsi, or dozinsi.

複線ドリフト!!
Doujinshi: Densha de D 電車でD, an Initial D parody.
Photo source: やまひで's blog, 同人ゲーム「地主一派 電車でD LightningStage」で遊んでみた - type-y.com, accessed 2019-01-09.

doujin 同人

In Japanese, doujin 同人, meaning literally "same people," refers to people who have the same hobby as you. In anime and manga, doujin refers to indie manga, anime, games, etc., and their creation, as opposed to mainstream works.

The word doujin is also romanized douzin, dōjin, or dōzin.

新妻くんはプロとしての自覚がなさ過ぎる 自分が楽しくて描きたいだけなら同人誌でも書いてればいい しかし「ジャンプ」で描くプロなんだ 読者を楽しませる事を第一に考えなければダメだ ・・・・・・・・・
Manga: Bakuman. バクマン。 (Chapter 22)

manga - Terminology

In Japanese, manga 漫画 means "comics," as in drawings with speech balloons, it doesn't matter if the comics are Japanese, Korean, American, etc. In English, manga refers only to Japanese comics or artwork in the manga style. The word is also spelled まんが, マンガ.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

kosoado kotoba こそあど言葉

In Japanese, "Kosoado Words," Kosoado Kotoba こそあど言葉, or even "Kosoado Pronouns," are the words start with ko, so, a, do こそあど, like kore, kono, koko, kou, konna, kocchi, and are used as demonstrative and interrogative pronouns.

A kosoado chart with all the kosoado kotoba ことあど言葉, including the pronouns: kore, sore, are, dore これ、それ、あれ、どれ; kono, sono, ano, dono この、その、あの、どの; koko, soko, asoko, doko ここ、そこ、あそこ、どこ; kou, sou, aa, dou こう、そう、ああ、どう; konna, sonna, anna, donna こんな、そんな、あんな、どんな; koitsu, soitsu, aitsu, doitsu こいつ、そいつ、あいつ、どいつ; konata, sonata, anata, donata こなた、そなた、あなた、どなた; kochira, sochira, achira, dochira, こちら、そちら、あちら、どちら; kocchi, socchi, acchi, docchi こっち、そっち、あっち、どっち

koitsu, soitsu, aitsu, doitsu

In Japanese, koitsu, soitsu, aitsu, doitsu こいつ, そいつ, あいつ, どいつ mean "this one," "that one (near you)," "that one (far from us)," "which one?" They're kosoado words that refer to individual items, and, sometimes, to people.

These words have nothing to do with itsu 何時, which means "when," or itsuka 何時か, "sometime."

コイツです え 何ですか?
Manga: Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou 魁!!クロマティ高校 (Chapter 14)

kou, sou, aa, dou - Meaning

In Japanese, kou, sou, aa, dou こう, そう, ああ, どう mean "this manner," "that manner (near you)," "that manner (far from us)," and "what manner?" They're kosoado words referring to manner.

こう こうやってあそぶの お おおーーっ!!
Manga: Yotsuba to! よつばと! (Chapter 1)

konna, sonna, anna, donna

In Japanese, konna, sonna, anna, donna こんな, そんな, あんな, どんな mean "like this [thing]," "like that [thing] (near you)," "like that [thing] (far from us)," and "like what [thing]?" They're kosoado words referring to how things are, or the appearance of things.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

kocchi, socchi, acchi, docchi - Meaning in Japanese, Usage Examples, Grammar

In Japanese, kocchi, socchi, acchi, docchi こっち, そっち, あっち, どっち mean "this way (toward me)," "that way (toward you)," "that way (away from us)," and "what way?" respectively. They're kosoado words related to direction, but they can also refer to sides, choices, and people.

The words kochira, sochira, achira, dochira こちら, そちら, あちら, どちら work the same way in some cases, but they're considered to be more polite.

私と仕事 一体どっちが大切なの!!
Manga: Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san. よんでますよ、アザゼルさん。 (Chapter 23)

kono, sono, ano, dono - Meaning in Japanese

In Japanese, kono, sono, ano, dono この, その, あの, どの mean "this," "that," and "what." They're kosoado words very much like kore, sore, are, dore これ, それ, あれ, どれ, except they're used as adjectives instead of as nouns.

The words sono その and ano あの are also interjections. The word dono どの after someone's name is the honorific dono 殿.

このたい焼きが僕っ・・・です!!
Manga: Boku no Hero Academia, 僕のヒーローアカデミア (Chapter 48)

kore, sore, are, dore - Meaning in Japanese, Usage Examples, Grammar

In Japanese, kore, sore, are, dore これ, それ, あれ, どれ mean "this thing (near me)," "that thing (near you)," "that thing (away from us)," and "what thing?" They're kosoado words that refer to things in general.

Sometimes, are? あれ? is an interjection of doubt: "huh?"

なー あれなんだー? え?
Manga: Yotsuba to! よつばと! (Chapter 1, よつばとひっこし)
Friday, October 7, 2016

kochira, sochira, achira, dochira

In Japanese, kochira, sochira, achira, dochira こちら, そちら, あちら, どちら mean "this way (toward me)," "that way (toward you)," "that way (away from us)," and "what way?" respectively. They're kosoado words related to direction, but they can also refer to sides, choices, and people.

The words kocchi, socchi, acchi, docchi こっち, そっち, あっち, どっち are abbreviations of kochira, sochira, achira, dochira. They're used the same way in some cases, but they aren't considered as polite.

こちらがお客さんだ。 あんたを患者のとこまで連れて行く。
Manga: MONSTER, モンスター (Chapter 2 of Volume 3, ローヤーの法則)

konata, sonata, anata, donata

In Japanese, konata, sonata, anata, donata こなた, そなた, あなた, どなた are kosoado words related to direction, and then to person. They're a bit odd, because donata means "who," anata あなた is one of the various way to say "you" in Japanese, and the rest is archaic.

In various ways, they're similar to the words kochira, sochira, achira and dochira.

・・・・・・・・・・・・ うろうろ おお! そなたは薪売りか?
Manga: Houshin Engi 封神演義 (Chapter 3, 妲己ちゃん 炮烙を造る)

koko, soko, asoko, doko

In Japanese, koko, soko, asoko, doko ここ, そこ, あそこ, どこ mean "here," "there (near you)," "over there (not near you)," and "where?" They are kosoado words related to place.

ここはどこだ!?
Manga: Yotsuba to! よつばと! (Chapter 2)
Thursday, October 6, 2016

keikaku doori 計画通り

Maybe you've heard it in anime, maybe you've heard it in the meme keikaku doori: (TL Note: keikaku means "plan")(Note: TL means "Translator Note"), and maybe you're asking yourself: is keikaku doori 計画通り really "all according to the plan?" What does the phrase keikaku doori mean in Japanese?

Well, I don't know what you expected but it, yeah, sure, you can translate keikaku doori 計画通り as "all according to the plan," and, yes, indeed, keikaku 計画 means "plan" in Japanese. The word doori 通り, however, is a little more complicated to explain.

計画通り
Manga: Death Note (Chapter 53, 悲鳴)

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Cat Boy (Anime Character Type)

In manga and anime, a cat boy is a character that has cat-like features, such as feline body parts"cat ears," nekomimi 猫耳, "cat eyes," nekome 猫目, "cat mouth," nekoguchi 猫口, and a "cat tail," neko-shippo 猫しっぽ—and ending their sentences in nyaa にゃー, "meow."

Examples of anime cat boys.
Anime: Loveless (Episode 1)
Anime: Uchi Tama?! Uchi no Tama Shirimasen ka? うちタマ?!~うちのタマ知りませんか?~ (Episode 1)
Anime: Hellsing Ultimate (Episode 4)
Anime: Haiyore! Nyaruko-san 這いよれ!ニャル子さん (Episode 9)
Anime: Sunohara-sou no Kanrinin-san すのはら荘の管理人さん (Episode 3)

Cat Girl (Anime Character Type)

In manga and anime, a cat girl is a character that has cat-like features, such as feline body parts"cat ears," nekomimi 猫耳, "cat eyes," nekome 猫目, "cat mouth," nekoguchi 猫口, and a "cat tail," neko-shippo 猫しっぽ—and ending their sentences in nyaa にゃー, "meow."

Examples of anime cat girls.
Anime: Vampire Hunter (1997, OVA) (Episode 3)
Anime: Akame ga Kill!, アカメが斬る! (Episode 6)
Anime: Uchi Tama?! Uchi no Tama Shirimasen ka? うちタマ?!~うちのタマ知りませんか?~ (Episode 1)
Anime: Gintama 銀魂 (Episode 12)
Anime: Ishuzoku Reviewers, 異種族レビュアーズ (Episode 1)
Anime: Tokyo Mew Mew, 東京ミュウミュウ (Episode 2)
Anime: Asobi ni Iku yo! あそびにいくヨ! (Episode 1)
Anime: Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu 異世界魔王と召喚少女の奴隷魔術 (Episode 1)
Anime: Nekopara ネコぱら (Episode 1)
Anime: New Game!! (Season 2) (Episode 2)
Anime: Onigiri 鬼斬 (Episode 3)
Anime: Hataage! Kemono Michi 旗揚!!けものみち (Episode 10)

nekomimi 猫耳 (Cat Ears in Anime)

In Japanese, nekomimi 猫耳 means "cat ears," and can refer to an actual cat's ears, to the cat ears of a cat girl or cat boy character, to cat ear headbands used to cosplay as a cat girl or cat boy character, or to other things that resemble cat ears, but technically are not. It's also spelled without kanji, as nekomimi ネコミミ.

Examples of nekomimi 猫耳, "cat ears," in anime.
Source: various.

tadaima ただいま

In Japanese, tadaima ただいま, meaning literally "just now," is an expression used by someone who has returned home, from work, school, etc. It means basically "I'm back," "I'm home."

The answer to this greeting would be okaeri おかえり, or okaerinasai おかえりなさい. When leaving home, itte-kimasu 行ってきます and itte-rasshai 行ってらっしゃい.

ただいま おかえり っていうかアレだな おまえは早く帰って私の遊び相手をするべきだ こんな時間までどこほっつき歩いてたんだこの野郎
Manga: Minami-ke みなみけ (Chapter 1, ホットケーキにしましょう)

okaeri おかえり - Meaning in Japanese

In Japanese, okaeri おかえり, meaning literally "return," is an expression used when welcoming someone back home from school, work, etc., specially after the person coming back home says tadaima ただいま. Longer variants include okaerinasai おかえりなさい, okaerinasaimase おかえりなさいませ, okaerinasaimashi おかえりなさいまし. They're also spelled お帰り, お帰りなさい, お帰りなさいませ, お帰りなさいまし.

When leaving home, ittekimasu 行ってきます and itterashai 行ってらっしゃい are used instead.

パパ おかえりー
Manga: Fullmetal Alchemist, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi 鋼の錬金術師 (Chapter 14, ひとりっ子の気持ち)
Tuesday, October 4, 2016

NEET ニート

In Japanese and anime, NEET, or niito ニート, is an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training." In other words, a NEET is someone who isn't studying, doesn't have a job, and isn't learning a craft. They aren't earning money, contributing to society, or acquiring skills.

They are doing nothing, basically. They're lazy bums living off their parents' expense or something.

A hikikomori otaku NEET character watching anime is a messy room from the anime Welcome to NHK!
Saturday, September 24, 2016

Ojisan, Ojiisan, Obasan, Obaasan - Meaning in Japanese

So you might have heard one of these words in anime: ojisan, ojiisan, obasan and obaasan. Yep. Four words. Both ojisan and ojiisan and obasan and obaasan are different words. They aren't the same word at all, they just sound very alike.
Friday, August 26, 2016

fujoshi - Meaning in Japanese - fudanshi, yume-joshi, hime-danshi

In Japanese, fujoshi 腐女子, meaning literally "rotten girl," refers to a girl that fantasizes about guys being in a homosexual relationship with other guys, specially shipping male characters with other male characters in manga and anime, writing gay fanfics, drawing gay doujinshi 同人誌, and fan art featuring them, and enjoying gay genres called BL (Boys' Love) and yaoi やおい / 801.

Koganuma Minori 古賀沼美埜里 holding a BL comic.
Character: Koganuma Minori 古賀沼美埜里
Anime: Outbreak Company (Episode 4)
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