Note: Strictly speaking there are no capitals in Japanese, but I do it in this case for convenience. (Also it's a good idea to TRANSLATE these words immediately after using them so someone doesn't think you are swearing at them and so they can understand you. I do not recommend using them purely to show off and keep the other person confused.)
Words about the Language:
nihongo- 日本語-Kanji にほんご - hiragana Japanese language
hiragana- ひらがな a Japanese syllabary uses to add verb endings, or for Japanese words not written in kanji.
kanji- 漢字 in Kanji かんじ -hiragana Ideo graphics borrowed from China and used to write Japanese
katakana- カタカナ A syllabary used to usually write foreign words. It is often used for foreigners, in manga and anime. In the ancient times it was the woman's written language.
Saying Yes and no
hai- はい yes, to acknowledge someone, to answer to someone who has called your name
nai- ない no (Making something negative. Like desu nai would be isn't or is not, or a contradictory "no".)
ne- ね isn't it so?
iie- いいえ no (used more for a "yes" / "no" context)
Moshi moshi- mainly for the phone, used to get someone's attention. NOT used for e-mails. (*grin* but I do it anyway.. it is over a phone chord) [note: sometimes it is hyphenated too.. or the words are put together but my two Japanese friends do not.]
Haikei- Used at the begining of letters. This is what would be used for e-mails in Japan. (but it's not as much fun as Moshi moshi)
Keigu- This is like sincerely at the end of a letter.
Ohayou (gozaimasu)- (lots of fun to say can make it ring..) This is Good morning it is used around early morning.
Kon'nichiwa- this is Good morning or afternoon. It is also a formal way of saying hello in general.
Koban'wa Strictly for use when it is either dark or getting dark. It is "Good Evening."
Jaa ne! See ya! (that's the closest I can get)
Jaa! later! (that's the closest I can think of)
Oyasumi (nasai) Good Night
Sayonara Good-bye (formally
De wa matte
Soredewa nochi hodo
Soredewa mata ashita
[Note: These can be either used with or without a hyphen, it might be better to use a hyphen when talking to an English speaking person though. therefore it would real either (name)(suffix) or (name)-(suffix) e.g. Tezuka-san
kohai- This means an underclassmen roughly. This is in respect to their sempai (see sempai). They are expected to give respect to their sempai. This is a lifetime relationship that continues even after the students are out of school.
chan- This is a suffix that is used to refer to or address a close friend, e.g. Jaime-chan or Smith-chan, and usually with girls. It's also used for animals, such as Neko-chan (cat) It is also used to show endearment towards the other person it is being used for, as with boyfriends.
kun- a respectful suffix usually given to boys
-ko-is a suffix used on woman's names
P- (suffix) a cute/baby-talk/a very good known friend of referring to a person. usually used by young girls.
san- (suffix) Mr., Mrs., Miss., Ms.
sama- (suffix) Lady/lord are the usual translations. It is a more formal version of san.
senpai- (also spelled senpai) this is someone that is older than a particular student i.e. high school v. middle school. They have more responsibility in Japan than the United States. They have the right to demand and expect respect from their lower classmen (kohai). This relationship lasts for the rest of their lives.
sensei- This is a suffix usually used with a hyphen means literally "exhalted one". It usually is given to older people, but is now being given to younger mangaka and is usually given to a master.
hime- "Princess"
ouji- "Prince"
-mama- talking about or to a mother in general
-papa- talking about or to a father in general
[note: often these are used as the suffix for addressing people as well. The table below is copied from the Japanese grammar book I bought. It is an excellent book that I highly reccommend.]
| Family Member | Talking about your family | Talking about another family |
| grandfather | sofu | ojisan |
| grandmother | sobo | obaasan |
| father | chichi | otousan |
| mother | haha | okaasan |
| husband | otto/ shujin | goshujin |
| wife | tsuma | okusan |
| uncle | oji | ojisan |
| aunt | oba | obasan |
| son | musuko | mukusan |
| daughter | musume | ojousan |
| cousin | itoko | itoko |
| elder brother | ani | oniisan |
| younger brother | otouto | otoutosan |
| elder sister | ane | onesan |
| younger sister | imoto | imotosan |
1-ichi; hitotsu
2-ni; futatsu
3-san; mittsu; mi
4-yon; yottsu; shi
5-go; itsutsu
6-roku; muttsu
7-nana; nanatsu; shichi
8-hachi; yattsu
9-kyu; ku
10-juu; to
[note: when counting something you add on a -biki, -hiki, -ppiki at the end of the number. the Item goes first and then the number with the suffix, e.g. as with counting sheep hitsuji ichi-biki]
hitsuji- sheep
mesu; nyuugyuu- Cow
inu- dog
neko- cat
shishi- lion
tora- tiger
kuma- bear
risu-squirrel
usagi- rabbit
koumori-bat
[note: If it is a family pet then the ending -chan is added. e.g. Neko-chan. To make it a baby version of that animal simply add a ko in front otf the word, as in kitten- Koneko]
Onigai (shimasu)- please (request)
Arigato- Thank you
Domo Arigato- thank you very much
Gomen- sorry
Gomen nasai- I'm very sorry
Doh Itamashite- your welcome
cherry blossoms- This either tells of three things in anime, hard times to come for which ever character it lands on, death will come to that character with much honor, and it's spring. Sometimes it's all three. If they explicitly show the petals falling on a particular character that usually means they are going into battle and most likely will die, or the battle will be really, really difficult.
kabuki-This is an all male troupe of actors, much in the same spirit as the Shakespearean theater.
miko- a Shinto priestess, who are all japanese, because shinto is very exclusive.
oni-This is a demon/ogre/old legendary creature that ate humans. Very hard to define without seeing one. They usually are attracted to perverts, sexual kind of things, and can fly. They also punish for injustice in a marriage.
Shinto- This is a religion that is used in Anime to celebrate life. It is a native religion unique to Japan. There is a great amount of pride in this religion, because it is native. It is not a religion that is taken as seriously as Americans might take their own respective religions. It is mostly used for celebration and pride. It is on the down side usually ONLY for the "native" Japanese.
sailor fuku- these are school uniforms instituted after World War II. They are worn by girls and vary school to school in color, length of skirt, amount of lines on collar, etc. They are seen in almost any anime that includes some kind of school life. They can also be used to tell EXACTLY where the person attends school. (in another words, see a Sailor fuku and you know where they go to school) Not all school uniforms are Sailor fuku either. (though I have to say they are really cute)
Takarazuka- this is an all women's troupe that perform theater, much like Shakespeare's time only in reverse.
Anime- Anime is a form of animation. The word comes from the French which was adopted by the Japanese. It means "Animation" It is not a genre, but it is a medium. e.g. Crazy cat wielding great huge machines anime, A girl skater trying to win the heart of a guy by defeating a rival anime. Anime is a moving form of expression. It is most likely adapted from uses manga, but this is not always the case. It is also not all big eyes and weird colored hair. (Just check out Mai, the Psychic girl, Aizu, DNA^2 or Video Girl Ai) They might seem like cartoons in the American sense, but they follow a different kind of culture and physics and creation rules than the typical Saturday morning cartoon. See the rant about the difference between cartoons and anime in the Manga and Anime school.
bishoujo- This literally translates into "Pretty/Beautiful girl." (Guys usually drool over these.. ^_^)
bishounen- The word means "Pretty Boy." They often show up in manga and anime with screaming girls, flowers and things that make them slightly feminine. They primarily show up in shoujo manga. (They also tend to be very, very good looking.. Ohh... *_*)
ecchi- pervert/ perverted. This word is used to tell someone that they are being perverted, or is used for material that is not showing sex, but is exploiting the body for asthetical purposes anyway.
hentai- perverted. It is usually pornographic Manga or Anime oriented towards older men and is often used incorrectly for manga and anime that aren't hentai in America. It is defined as explicitly using images or describing sex to exploit the body or the gender/sex of that person for asthetical purposes. Hentai also tends to include the use of sex for the sake of it and uses it for no other apparent reason. Also this genre often lacks a cherent plot, though this is not always the case.
[note: It does not mean that anything with nudity, or indications of sex for the purposes of motivating the STORY and not for the sake of sex are included in this genre. Instead that is usually in manga and anime in general. If you want to advoid the use of nudity or sex in this manner, I strongly suggest you ask a fan of that anime or manga if it shows. Though in this case nudity in manga and anime in that way is usually used for innocence or for the sake of art, as in the Statue of David.]
manga- (mahn-gah) This is sort of like an American Black-and-white comic book with more pages (sometimes hundreds) and a movie-like feel, with (usually, but not always) better plots. The best way to describe it is a Graphic-pictorial-story novel. The word was coined in 1814 by Hokusai, Man involuntary; ga, picture.
mangaka (also seen mangaka)- the creators/writers/drawers of manga. They can still be called mangaka even if they are missing one or two of these categories. Directors of anime that create the anime without a manga reference are not mangaka.
mecha- A katakana word for mechanical. Mecha has to do with machines. the more detailed and extreme the mecha, the happier those kinds of fans are.
otaku- this refers to an a nerd in Japan. e.g. Game otaku, sports otaku, but it's used with pride in the United States and usually refers to an Anime or Manga otaku.
OAV/OVA- acronym "Original Animated Video"/ "Original Video Animation" a TV episode that goes straight to tape.
tankoubon- one of the most frequently mispelled words on the internet, it literally means book, but is often used in terms of manga to say a collected version of the manga.
ka- used at the end of a statement to make it into a question
nani yo!- What is that?! / WHHHAAATTT!!??
dare- Who?
Dou- how /in what condition?
doko- Where?
donna- What kind of
dochira- Where Which (inreference to direction and preference.)
dore- Which?
dotchi- which
donata- which person
naze/ Doushite- Why?
dono kurai- how much?
nan/ nani- what?
nanin- How many people
ikura- How much?
ikutsu- how many
itsu- when
douyatte- By what means?
dono gurai- to what extent?
genki desu ka. How are you?
chibi- This word means "small", but is often derogatory. A better equivalent would be "Midget/pip-squeak".
chiisai- "small" with no negative connations
daijoubu (desu)- It's all right. Everything is going to be fine.
desu-used to make a statement
honto- really, trully
hen- weird, out of place, has an even wider connotation than in the US. Can also be used in this manner. Hen! Hen! Hen!
henshin- transform, change
taihen- terrible, super weird
minna(-san)- everyone
shi- death
tenchi- heaven
tenchu- God
tenshi- angel
owaru- die (as in to cease)
kami- (also spelled kame) this refers to the Shinto idea of a living spirit in all things. e.g. a person kami, a goldfish kami, spider kami, tree kami. They can be used both for good and bad.
kawaii- cute
ko- short for kodomo, and is often used at the end of women's names. It means child or small.
Pasocon Tsuushin- basically a Japanese version of the Internet
senshi- "soldier". This word is different from sensei. They mean entirely different things. super deformed- this is a way to make the characters seem cute. it also tends to simplify the characters to their basic elements.
sugoi!- cool, awesome
yorokonde- with pleasure