Japanese Christmas Words

Since it's almost Christmas, I figured I should make a list of Japanese words related to the holidays, including some assorted vocabulary and phrases, too.

• Christmas in Japanese
• Date
• Merry Christmas
• Happy Hanukkah
• Happy Holidays
• Christmas Stuff
• Jingle Bells
• Santa
• 黒いサンタ
• Reindeer
• Food
• Christmas Cake Woman
• Presents
• Tree
• Decorations
• Weather
• Snow
• Snowman
• Religion

Christmas in Japanese

The word Christmas doesn't really get translated to Japanese, it gets loaned to Japanese. That means it's the same word, but katakanized, written with the Japanese alphabet in a way the Japanese can pronounce.

• kurisumasu クリスマス
  Christmas.
• X-masu Xマス
  ekkusu-masu エックスマス
  Xmas.

Note that, in a number of abbreviations and derived words, Christmas becomes just kuri クリ in Japanese.

Date

Just like in America (and probably the rest of the world, too), in Japan Christmas is celebrated every year 25th of December. Below is how that date is written in Japanese:

• jyuu-ni-gatsu ni-jyuu-go-nichi １２月２５日
  Month 12 (December), day 25.

The same is true for that day just before Christmas.

• kurisumasu ibu クリスマス・イヴ
  Christmas Eve.
• jyuu-ni-gatsu ni-jyuu-yon-nichi １２月２４日
  jyuu-ni-gatsu ni-jyuu-yokka １２月２４日
  Month 12 (December), day 24.

Time & Planning

• yotei 予定
  Plans.
• yotei ga nai 予定がない
  To not have plans (for Christmas).
• jikan to basho 時間と場所
  Time and place.

• jiki 時期
  Time. Season. (Christmas)
• yuuru ユール
  Yule.
• chigai 近い
  Near.
• kurisumasu ga chikai クリスマスが近い
  Christmas is near.
• kurisumasu ga chikadzuku クリスマスが近づく
  Christmas approaches ("coming near").
• kurisumasu ga chikadzuiteiru クリスマスが近づいている
  Christmas is approaching.
• kurisumasu ga chikadzuitekita クリスマスが近づいてきた
  Christmas is coming near.

• kurisumasu ga hajimaru クリスマスが始まる
  Christmas begins.
• kurisumasu ga owaru クリスマスが終わる
  Christmas ends

Spending Christmas

• kurisumasu wo sugosu クリスマスを過ごす
  To pass Christmas. To spend Christmas (doing).
• kurisumasu wo sugoshita クリスマスを過ごした
  To have passed Christmas. To have spent Christmas (doing).

• isshoni kurisumasu wo sugosu 一緒にクリスマスを過ごす
  To pass Christmas together.
• tomodachi to kurisumasu wo sugosu 友達とクリスマスを過ごす
  yuujin to kurisumasu wo sugosu 友人とクリスマスを過ごす
  To pass Christmas with your friends
• koibito to kurisumasu wo sugosu 恋人とクリスマスを過ごす
  To pass Christmas together with your lover.
• kareshi to kurisumasu wo sugosu 彼氏とクリスマスを過ごす
  To pass Christmas with your boyfriend.
• kanojo to kurisumasu wo sugosu 彼女とクリスマスを過ごす
  To pass Christmas with your girlfriend.
• kazoku to kurisumasu wo sugosu 家族とクリスマスを過ごす
  To pass Christmas with your family.

• kuri-bocchi クリぼっち
  Lone Christmas. Spending it alone.

Merry Christmas

To say merry Christmas in Japanese, you just say:

• merii kurisumasu メリークリスマス
  Merry Christmas
• merikuri メリクリ
  (Abbreviated version, used in online messages, etc.)

There are Japanese words for "merry," "cheerful," like youki 陽気. So do people say youki kurisumasu 陽気クリスマス? No. They don't. It's merii kurisumasu メリークリスマス.

It's not really about what it means. It's basically just Japanese people copying what they hear in Hollywood Christmas movies. (no, I'm not even joking. American movies disseminate Christmas culture far better than anything the church has ever done, just like anime does with Japan)

Manga: Gabriel DropOut, Gavuriiru Doroppuauto ガヴリールドロップアウト (Chapter 20)

• hora' Sataanya mo issho ni!
  ほらっ　サターニャも一緒に！
  [Come on,] Satania too, [say it] together [with us]!
• merii kurisumasu!
  メリークリスマス！
  Merry Christmas!
• ha'!? nande watashi made...
  はっ！？なんで私まで･･･
  Hah!? Why even I [have to do it too]...
• merii kurisumasu'
  メリークリスマスっ
  Merry Christmas
• merikuri merikuri
  メリクリメリクリ
  Merry Christmas, merry Christmas
• wasshoi wasshoi
  わっしょいわっしょい
  (this is an exclamation used in festivals. Doesn't really mean anything. It's like "heave-ho.")
• (repeat.)
• uzu uzu
  うずうず
  *itching to do something.* (mimetic word.)
• Will Satania be able to endure the temptation of Christmas?!
• Or is she going to say "Merry Christmas" and join her friends?!
• Read the manga (or watch the anime) to find out!

Happy Hanukkah

Japanese people don't know about Hanukkah. Period.

There aren't Home Alone movies about Hanukkah. No movies = no fame. If your holidays are worth caring about you need a couple of worldwide blockbusters about it. Sure there has to be one person at least who celebrates Hanukkah in Japan, but, generally, people don't know about it, so it's just Christmas.

If you do encounter the phrase below, it'll be in a Japanese article talking about fads in America.

• happii hanuka ハッピーハヌカ
  Happy Hanukkah.

Happy Holidays

In America there's a weird trend of saying "happy holidays," because... because... I have no idea? It's some stupid phrase someone came up with. What if you commemorate something in July? Nobody says "happy holidays" in July. So what kind of chronological discrimination is this?

Anyway the phrase below is actually used in Japanese (not with the same frequency as merry Christmas, though)

• happii horidee ハッピーホリデー
  Happy holiday. (preferred)
• happii horideezu ハッピーホリデーズ
  Happy holidays.

Christmas Stuff

• kurisumasu kyaroru クリスマスキャロル
  Christmas carol.
• kurisumasu songu クリスマスソング
  Christmas song.
• kurisumasu kaado クリスマスカード
  Christmas card.
• kurisumasu paatyi クリスマスパーティ
  kuripa クリパ
  Christmas party.
• kurisumasu konseeto クリスマスコンサート
  kurikon クリコン
  Christmas concert.

Jingle Bells

The famous "jingle bells" song would be called jinguru beru ジングルベル in Japanese. Its actual name, ""one-horse open sleigh," would be wan hoosu opun surei ワンホース・オープン・スレイ.

Lyrics in Japanese

This is an English song. There's no such thing as lyrics in Japanese. The best you can get is the katakanized version of the lyrics, which are the same English lyrics but written in a way Japanese people can read.

For example, someone posted their katakana version of Jingle Bells in this Japanese page: ジングルベルの歌詞.

I say their because they literally just listened to the song and wrote down what they thought it sounded like. It's not like there's an official version of this thing. You can find a dozen different katakanizations of this song around the internet.

Santa

• Santa サンタ
  Santa.

Yep. Santa.

• Santa Kuroosu サンタクロース
  Santa Claus.

Sometimes called with the honorific:

• Santa-san サンタさん
  Santa.

He lives in the:

• kita 北
  North. (cardinal directions)
• hokkyoku 北極
  North pole. The Arctic.
• hokkyoku de kurasu 北極で暮らす
  Living by the North Pole.

Where he has a:

• koujou 工場
  Factory. Workshop.

And employs:

• yousei 妖精
  Fairies. (a type of, at least)
• erufu エルフ
  Elf. Elves.
• kurisumasu erufu クリスマスエルフ
  Christmas elves.

And then he has a list of:

• ii ko 良い子
  Good kids. (Nice kids.)
• warui ko 悪い子
  Bad kids. (Naughty kids.)

Whom he gives:

• purezento プレゼント
  Presents.
• sekitan 石炭
  Coal.

And let's not forget what he drives:

• sori ソリ
  Sled.
• sora 空
  Sky.
• sora tobu 空飛ぶ
  Sky-flying.
• sora tobu sori 空飛ぶソリ
  Sky flying sled.

Whose flight is powered by:

• tonakai トナカイ
  Reindeer.
• This comes from the Ainu word tunakkay.
• If you don't know what an Ainu is, go watch Golden Kamuy.
• Another word for reindeer is...
• junroku 馴鹿
  Literally: Tamed Deer.

And he enters in houses by the:

• entotsu 煙突
  Chimney.
• entotsu kara hairu 煙突から入る
  Enter by the chimney. "Enter from the chimney."

Black Santa

There's also the Kuroi Santa 黒いサンタ, or "Black Santa." Which refers to:

• Kunehito Ruupurehito クネヒト・ループレヒト
  Knecht Ruprecht.

This is a character in the Germanic folklore known in Japan for punishing bad kids, rather than giving gifts to good kids.

Reindeer

The names of the Santa Claus's reindeer in Japanese are as follows:

1. dasshaa ダッシャー
   Dasher.
2. dansaa ダンサー
   Dancer.
3. puransaa プランサー
   Prancer.
4. vikusen ヴィクセン
   Vixen.
5. kometto コメット
   Comet.
6. kyuupiddo キューピッド
   Cupid.
7. donnaa ダンナー
   Donner Dunder. Donder.
8. burisshen ブリッツェン
   Blitzen. Blixem. Blixen.
9. rudorufu ルドルフ
   Rudolph.

Other words and phrases:

• tonakai トナカイ (kanji: 馴鹿)
  Reindeer.
• sora tobu sori wo hiku tonakai 空飛ぶソリを引くトナカイ
  Reindeer pulling sky-flying sled.
  The reindeer that pull the sky-flying sled.
• aka hana no tonakai 赤鼻のトナカイ
  Red-nose reindeer.
  Red-nosed reindeer.

Food

The names of some traditional Christmas foods:

• shichimenshou 七面鳥
  Turkey.
• furaido chikin フライドチキン
  Friend chiken.
• kurisum—

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait, what?

Fried chicken?

Since when is friend chicken a "traditional Christmas food"? Has the world of fast food capitalism and the world of Christmas capitalism collided so hard fast food chains are now traditional? What is going on here???

Well, you see, why do people eat a turkey in Christmas dinner? That's because... it's tradition. And what is Christmas? A tradition. A religious tradition. The Christmas dinner is a very literally a feast of the religious kind, at least it was, originally. A country that doesn't have a long history of Christian religious traditions, such as Japan, ends up eating whatever sounds good for the dinner. In Japan's case, it is, seriously, fried chicken.

(Some articles on the subject: Smithsonian: Why Japan Is Obsessed with Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas and Business Insider: how KFC made Christmas all about fried chicken in Japan )

So yeah, they don't eat turkey. They eat fried chicken.

• kurisumasu keeki クリスマスケーキ
  Christmas cake.
• kurisumasu pudhingu クリスマスプディング
  Christmas pudding.
• reebukuuhen レープクーヘン
  Lebkuchen. (German treat)
• panettoone パネトーネ
  Panettone. (Italian bread)

Christmas Cake Woman

In Japan, the term "Christmas cake," or kurisumasu keeki クリスマスケーキ, may sometimes refer to an unmarried woman above "25 years old," ni-juu-go-sai ２５歳.

This is because Christmas cakes are meant to be consumed by Christmas, which is day 25. This idiom implies a woman above 25 years old should have trouble marrying, as she's still "on the shelf" (unmarried) after the best date for purchase.

This term isn't really related to Christmas, it's just a way of saying, but I figured it should be included here anyway.

Presents

There are a couple of words for "present" in Japanese:

• purezento プレゼント
  Present.
• gifuto ギフト
  Gift.
• okurimono 贈り物
  Given thing.
• omiyage お土産
  Souvenir. ("produce from earth")

They each have their differences and are used in different circumstances. In the case of Christmas, the word preferred comes from the English "present," purezento.

• kurisumasu purezento クリスマスプレゼント
  kuripure クリプレ
  Christmas present.
• purezento bokkusu プレゼントボックス
  Present box. Gift box.

Giving & Receiving

There are a few ways to say you're "giving a present" in Japanese, or "receiving a present." First, let's start with the most basic verb:

• purezento suru プレゼントする
  To give a present. To "present."

The above only works because in Japanese the word purezento is also a verb (to present, to gift). The auxiliary suru means "to do," it does not mean "to give."

Another way of saying it is using the verbs kureru, ageru and morau:

• purezento wo ageru プレゼントをあげる
  To give a present.
• purezento wo kureru プレゼントをくれる
  To be given a present. (most of the time)
• purezento wo morau プレゼントを貰う
  To take a present.

Because these are also auxiliary verbs, they can be combined with purezento suru:

• purezento shite ageru プレゼントしてあげる
  To present.
• purezento shite kureru プレゼントしてくれる
  To be presented. (most of the time)

Example Phrases

• purezento shite kurete, arigatou プレゼントしてくれて、ありがとう
  [For] presenting [me], thanks.
  (very unlikely to be said)
• purezento arigatou プレゼントありがとう
  Thanks for the present.
  (more likely to be said)

• kore, ageru yo これ、あげるよ
  This, [I'll] give [to you].
  This is for you. *hands present*
• purezento wa nani ga hoshii? プレゼントは何が欲しい？
  What [do you] want for present?

• kattekureta? 買ってくれた？
  [You] bought [it] for [me]?
• katteageru 買ってあげる
  [I'll] buy [it] for [you].

Buying

• yosan 予算
  Budget. "Expected amount." (to buy the present)
• kachi 価値
  Value. Worth.
• nedan 値段
  Price.

• kau 買う
  To buy.
• kattekuru 買ってくる
  To go buy and then come back.
• kattekita 買ってきた
  To have bought and come back.

• en 円
  Yen. Anime money!
• doru ドル
  Dollar.

Receiver

• tomodachi 友達
  yuujn 友人
  Friend.

• koibito 恋人
  Lover.
• kareshi 彼氏
  Boyfriend.
• kanojo 彼女
  Girlfriend.

• okusama 奥様
  Wife.
• dannasama 旦那様
  Husband.

Common Gifts

The words below are translated to plural, but Japanese plurals don't work the same way they do in English, so the same word (omocha) can be either singular (toy) or plural (toys).

Children & Hobbies

• omocha おもちゃ
  Toys.
• ningyou 人形
  Dolls.
• geemu ゲーム
  Video-games.
• hon 本
  Books.

• kyarakutaa guzzu キャラクターグッズ
  "Character goods." Backpacks, etc. with anime characters.
• dizzuni guzzu ヂッズニーグッズ
  Disney goods. (same as above, but Disney characters)

• jitensha 自転車
  Bicycle.
• sanrinsha 三輪車
  Tricycle.
• supootsu youhin スポーツ用品
  Sports goods.

Clothing

• irui 衣類
  Clothes.
• fasshon ファッション
  Fashion.

• baggu バッグ
  Bag.
• saifu 財布
  Wallet.
• fasshon komono ファッション小物
  Fashion accessories.
• akusesarii アクセサリー
  Accessories.
• ude tokei 腕時計
  Wristwatch.
• kosume コスメ
  Cosmetics.

Other

• pea gifuto ペアギフト
  Pair gift.
  A matching item, often given from boyfriend to girlfriend or vice-versa so that both of them wear as a pair.
• yuumei burando 有名ブランド
  Famous brand (of clothing).
• yuumei sutoa 有名ストア
  Famous store.

Tree

The word for "tree" in Japanese is:

• ki 木
  Tree.

However, that's just a normal, everyday tree. The holiday tree is called something else, Englishier:

• tsurii ツリー
  Tree.
• kurisumasu tsurii クリスマスツリー
  Christmas tree.

It also has some less common names, based on Christianity:

• chie no ki 知恵の樹
  Tree of knowledge (of good and evil).
• seijuu 聖樹
  Holy tree.

Concerning the type of tree the Christmas tree is:

• jouryoku shokubutsu 常緑植物
  Evergreen plant. "Normally green planted thing."
• shin'youjuu 針葉樹
  Conifer.
• touhi-zoku トウヒ属
  Spruces family. Picea.
• matsu-zoku マツ属
  Pines family. Pinus.
• momi-zoku モミ属
  Firs family. Abies.

Decorations

The word for decoration in Japanese is:

• kazari 飾り
  Decoration. Decorations.

And it comes from a verb, so it has all these sibling words:

• kazaru 飾る
  To decorate.
• kazari tsukeru 飾り付ける
  To decorate. "To attach decorations."
• kazari tsuke 飾りつけ
  The act of decorating. The attachment of decorations.

Typical Ornaments

• oonamento オーナメント
  Ornaments.

• tsurii toppu ツリートップ
  Tree-top. Treetopper.
• hoshi 星
  Star.
• tenshi 天使
  Angel.

• oonamento booru オーナメントボール
  Ornament ball.
  Christmas baubles.
• gaarando ガーランド
  Garland.
• mooru モール
  Tinsel.
• ribon リボン
  Ribbon.
• beru ベル
  Bell.

• ringo リンゴ (林檎)
  Apple.
• kashirui 菓子類
  Pastries.
• kyandhi kein キャンディケイン
  Candy cane.
• men 綿
  Cotton. (as fake snow)

• souroku ろうそく (蝋燭)
  Candles.
• tenshoku 電飾
  Decorative illumination.
• irumineeshon raito イルミネーションライト
  "Illumination light." (yes, really)
  Lights of [decorative] illumination. Colored lights.
• kurisumasu irumineeshon クリスマスイルミネーション
  Christmas illumination.

Weather

Japan is in the northern hemisphere, therefore, in December, when it's Christmas, it is:

• fuyu 冬
  Winter.

And the temperature is:

• samui 寒い
  tsumetai 冷たい
  Cold.

That is, the the weather is samui, while everything you touch is tsumetai. (samui vs. tsumetai). That means "outside is cold," soto wa samui 外は寒い, but "the wind is cold," can be either kaze wa tsumetai 風は冷たい or kaze wa samui 風は寒い.

When it's cold, it's normal to:

• furueru 震える
  To tremble (with cold). To quiver.
• kaze wo hiku 風邪を引く
  To catch a cold.

So it's better to get something:

• atatakai 暖かいatatakai 温かい
  Warm. (暖かい vs. 温かい)
• atatakai ie 暖かい家
  Warm house. (not cold like outside)
• atatakai fuku 暖かい服
  Warm clothes.
• atatakai ocha 温かいお茶
  Warm tea.
• atatakai ofuro 温かいお風呂
  Warm bath.
• atatakai kazoku 温かい家族
  Warm family.

Snow

Since it's cold during Christmas, there's a lot of:

• yuki 雪
  sunoo スノー
  Snow.

Which is often called:

• shiroi 白い
  White.
• masshiro 真っ白
  Pure white.
• shiroi, tsumetai yuki 白い冷たい雪
  White, cold snow.
• shirokute tsumetai yuki 白くて冷たい雪
  White cold snow.
• masshiro na yuki 真っ白な雪
  Pure white snow.
• masshiro de tsumetai yuki 真っ白で冷たい雪
  Cold snow that's purely white.

This snow often come from the skies, so:

• furu 降る
  To rain.
• yuki ga furu 雪が降る
  The snow rains. (It's raining snow).

Some more snowy terms:

• masshiro na yuki no youni 真っ白な雪のように
  Like pure white snow. (someone's skin, a character's hair, etc.)

• yukimichi 雪道
  Snow-covered road. "Snow road."
• yukigumo 雪雲
  Snow cloud.
• seppen 雪片
  sunoo fureeku スノーフレーク
  Snow flake.
• sunoo buranketto スノーブランケット
  Snow blanket.
• kousetsu 降雪
  Snow fall. "Fall snow."
• fubuki 吹雪
  Snow storm. "Spew snow."
  (also a certain One Punch Man character's name)
• hatsuyuki 初雪
  "First snow" of the season.

• yukidama 雪玉
  Snowball.
• yukinage 雪投げ
  Snowball fight. "Throwing snow."
• marui 丸い
  Round. Ball-like.

White Christmas & Green Christmas

When it's Christmas Eve or Christmas and it snows it's called a:

• howaito kurisumasu ホワイトクリスマス
  White Christmas.

And when it does not snow it's called a:

• guriin kurisumasu グリーンクリスマス
  midori no kurisumasu 緑のクリスマス
  Green Christmas.

Snowman

• yukidaruma 雪だるま
  sunooman スノーマン
  Snowman.

• boushi 帽子
  Cap. Hat.
• mafuraa マフラー
  Muffler. Scarf.
• me 目
  Eyes.
• petto botoru no kyappu ペットボトルのキャップ
  Pet bottle's cap.
• hana 鼻
  Nose.
• ninjin ニンジン
  Carrot.
• kuchi 口
  Mouth.
• botan ボタン
  Buttons.
• ishikoro 石ころ
  Pebbles.

Religion

As we all know (I think?), Christmas is sort of based on the birth of:

• iesu kurisuto イエス・キリスト
  Jesus Christ.

The central idea behind:

• kirisuto-kyou キリスト教
  Christianity

Which is a:

• shuukyou 宗教
  Religion.
• kyoukai 教会
  Church. Congregation.

So much that a synonym for "Christmas" in Japanese is:

• seitansai 聖誕祭
  "Saint," seijin 聖人
  "Birth," tanjou 誕生
  "Festival," matsuri 祭

(which is kind of ironic, because seitan pronounced like "Satan," so the word is kind of also "Satan festival." By the way, Satan is just satan サタン in Japanese, the sa is pronounced like sardine.)

By the way, other holy words for Christmas are:

• seiya 聖夜
  Holy night. Christmas eve.
• seika 聖菓
  Holy pastry. Christmas cake.
• seijuu 聖樹
  Holy tree. Christmas tree.

Christianity in Japan

Japan isn't a particularly Christian country, but they do celebrate Christmas. Because everybody in the world celebrates Christmas. Not because they are christian or because they care about Christ, of course not.

They celebrate it because it's fun.

And there is food.

And you get presents.

So, in Japan, as well as in many other non-Christian countries, even though they do some Christmas stuff in Christmas, people don't really associate the event and the holidays with Christianity. Because, I mean, who could? What does a fat old man in red clothes breaking into homes going after kids have to do with the bible? I don't really see a connection here.

In practice, this means that, while there's a lot of Christians in Christian countries celebrating the birth of Christ in Christmas, there isn't as many in Japan, so you don't really get to see Christian stuff in Christmas with the same frequency you would see the United States or, for example, in Brazil, where I'm from.

(WhyChristmas has a page about Christmas in Japan and other countries)

I'm just saying this in case you're wondering why, even though there are so many anime with Christmas episodes, you never see anything Christian related in those episodes, you only see the trees, and decorations, and food, and cake eating, and presents, etc. This would be the why.