Japanese English or wasei-eigo (和製英語) - Part 1

Katakana is a Japanese writing system that makes life easy for foreign people trying to make their way around and get things done in Japan. This is because loan-words are chiefly written using this alphabet, and everything is syllabic so it is easy to read and recognise.

For example: バ (ba) + ス (su) = バス (basu) = bus.

Plus, there are only about 45 basic characters to learn, and the rest are made by adding diacritics to make voiced sounds.

However, using this system to 'import' foreign words and use them in daily life does have its problems. Often Japanese speakers will believe that a loan word is the same as the English word for that term, and they'll have trouble trying to communicate with English speakers. This comes from the fact that, not only do a lot of words come from other languages (like German, French and Portuguese), but many words have been abbreviated for convenience and ease of pronunciation. Some words also end up with incorrect associations.

These factors all give rise to something called wasei-gairaigo (和製外来語, Japanese-made words of foreign origin), or more specifically, wasei-eigo (和製英語, Japanese English). What we end up with are pseudo-Anglicisms: words that English-speaking people don't actually use, or don't use for the same function at all.

Here's an example involving a real case. 'Software,' a fairly new English word, has been converted into katakana and then shortened to ソフト(sofuto - 'soft'). On a young Japanese man's arrival in Australia, he tried to buy some software for his laptop with very limited English, and his repeated requests for 'soft' were met with very puzzled reactions.

Since a lot of my friends are interested in travelling or going on working holidays in English-speaking countries, I've started compiling a list of the most useful (and interesting) Japanese English. Here's part 1.

For pronunciation, click on the English word.
Note: AE = American English and BE = British English

日本語	ローマ字 (romaji)	説明 (explanation)	英語
マンション	manshon	mansion = 大邸宅	condominium, apartment (AE), flat (BE)
サイダー	saidā	cider = シードル	soda
ホッチキス	hocchikisu	Hotchkiss (a gun company)	stapler
マジックテープ	majikkutēpu	Magic tape = a kind of sticky tape	Velcro (発音）
リフォーム	rifōmu	reform = 改良	renovate (動詞), renovation (名)
バイキング	baikingu	Viking = ヴァイキング	smorgasbord, buffet
スタイル	sutairu	style does not mean body shape	figure, body
アンケート	ankēto	from French enquête	survey
カンニング	kaningu	cunning = ずるい、ずるさ	to cheat, cheating
クラクション	kurakushon	Klaxon = brand of alarm	horn (AE), hooter (BE)
メタボ	metabo	metabolic syndrome = combination of medical disorders	overweight, obese, metabolic syndrome
トランプ	toranpu	trump = highest value card in a game	cards, playing cards
ノルマ	noruma	from Russian норма	quota
ボンベ	bonbe	from German Bombe	gas cannister, gas cylinder
ボタン	botan	from Portuguese botão	button
ゴム	gomu	from Dutch gom	rubber
ホーム	hōmu	(plat)form	platform
コンクール	konkūru	from French concours	contest, competition
ペンション	penshon	pension = 年金	resort inn, boarding house
ピエロ	piero	from French pierrot	clown
ピンセット	pinsetto	from Dutch pincet	tweezers
リベンジ	ribenji	revenge = 報復、復讐	rematch
セレブ	serebu	celeb(rity) = 有名人	wealthy person, socialite