Japanese Words that Resemble English Words
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In Japanese there are many words made from English.
In order to make them, there are various patterns.
Examples that omit the latter parts of long words:
- building → ビル (biru = buil)
- (cash) register → レジ (reji = regi)
- celebrity → セレブ (serebu = celeb)
- infrastructure → インフラ (infura = infra)
- maniac → マニア (mania = mania)
- professional → プロ (puro = pro)
- restructure → リストラ (risutora = restru)
- supermarket → スーパー (su-pa- = super)
- television → テレビ (terebi = televi)
Examples that omit the former or latter words of compound nouns:
- apartment house → アパート (apa-to = apart)
- classical music → クラシック (kurashikku = classic)
- convenience store → コンビニ (konbini = conveni)
- department store → デパート (depar-to = depart)
- ice cream → アイス (aisu = ice)
- sewing machine →ミシン (mishin = machine)
Examples of shortened words created by combining shortened parts of compound nouns:
- air conditioner → エアコン (eakon = air con)
- patrol car → パトカー (patoka- = pat car)
- personal computer → パソコン (pasokon = perso com)
- sexual harassment → セクハラ (sekuhara = sex hara)
Examples of English words that differ from the original word:
- autograph → サイン (sain = sign)
- cards →トランプ (toranpu = trump)
- casual → ラフ (rafu = rough)
- cheating → カンニング (kannningu = cunning)
- complain → クレーム (kure-mu = claim)
- conditioner → リンス (rinsu = rinse)
- condominium → マンション (manshon = mansion)
- expert → ベテラン (beteran = veteran)
- figure → スタイル (sutairu = style)
- go for it → ファイト (faito = fight)
- microwave → ( 電でん 子し ) レンジ (renji = range)
- outlet / socket → コンセント (konsento = consent)
- product tester → モニター (monita- = monitor)
- reception desk → フロント (furonto = front)
- sensitive → ナイーブ (nai-bu = naive)
- slim → スマート (suma-to = smart)
- steering wheel → ハンドル (handoru = handle)
- sticker →シール (shi-ru = seal)
- TV personality → タレント (tarento = talent)
Examples of words that resemble English vocabulary:
- additional time → ロスタイム (rosu taimu = loss time)
- alumnus → オービー (OB / old boy)
- blender → ジューサー (jusa- = juicer)
- body search → ボディーチェック (bodhi chekku = body check)
- close personal contact → スキンシップ (sukinnshippu = skinship)
- convertible car →オープンカー (o-pun ca- = open car)
- custom-made → オーダーメイド (o-da- meido = order made)
- customer service → アフター サービス (afuta- sa-bisu = after service)
- electric carpet → ホットカーペット (hotto ca-petto = hot carpet)
- gas station → ガソリンスタンド (gasorin sutando / gasoline stand)
- gig venue → ライブハウス (raibu hausu = live house)
- guard → ガードマン (ga-doman = guardman)
- key ring / key chain → キ ー ホ ル ダ ー (ki- horuda- = key holder)
- laptop computer → ノートパソコン (no-to pasokon / note personal computer)
- marker → サインペン (sainn pen = sign pen)
- media → マスコミ (masukomi = mass communication)
- motorbike → オートバイ (o-tobai = auto bi)
- night game → ナイター (naita- = nighter)
- office worker → サラリーマン (sarari-man = salaryman) / オーエル (OL = office lady)
- on-line shopping → ネットショッピング (netto shoppingu = net shopping)
- panty hose / tights → パンスト (pansuto = panty stocking)
- plastic bottle → ペットボトル (petto botoru = pet bottle)
- priority seat → シルバーシート (siruba- shi-to = silver seat)
- renovation → リフォーム (rifo-mu = reform)
- roller-coaster → ジェットコースター (jetto ko-suta- = jet coaster)
- slogan → キャッチコピー (kyattchi copi- = catch copy)
- stroller → ベビーカー (bebi- ka- = baby car)
- studio (apartment) → ワンルームマンション (wan ru-mu manshon = one room mansion)
- ticket agency → プレイガイド (purei gaido = play guide)
- transvestite → ニューハーフ (nyu-ha-fu = new half)
Examples of words taken from languages other than English or from a different concept:
- buffet → バイキング (baiking = Viking / said to originate from the Swedish style of eating)
- part time job → アルバイト (arubaito = from the German ‘arbeit’ ) / パート (pa-to / part)
- rumor → デマ (dema / from the German ‘demagogie’)
- stapler → ホチキス (hochikisu / from the Hotchikiss brand who first imported staplers to Japan)
These words are used daily in Japanese.