Frequently Used Terms
These are some of the more common Japanese words
that you're likely to encounter on the net. If you will notice
the honorifics aren't covered here, because I will include them
in a lesson later on. Some of these words will allso be discussed
in greater detail in further lessons. As allways, if you have
any comments or suggestions, email me.
Kaitou
Ace
Anime: a common abbreviation of the
Japanese term for animation. In Japan it is used to refer to all
animation, while in other countries it is generally used to refer
to Japanese animation
Arigatou: Thank you (Domo arigato
gozaimasu = Thank you very much)
Baka: stupid, fool
Bishoujo: beautiful/pretty girl (shoujo
= girl)
Chibi: a short person, kid, diminutive
Demo: but
Doko (ni): where?
Domo: very much
Ecchi: mildly hentai (see below), risqué
Eigo: English
Fuku: clothes, uniform i.e.: Sailor
fuku
Gomen(nasai): sorry
Hai: yes
Henshin: transformation
Hentai: sexually perverted, a pervert
Hiragana: one of the Japanese phonetic
alphabets, used for native words.
Iie: no
Ja ne: bye (colloquial)
Juban Number 10 (Ju=10 Ban=number
is the district where the senshi live, hence the many puns on
the number 10 appearing throughout the series)
Kanji: Chinese characters as used
in Japanese, with different meanings/pronunciations
Katakana: one of the Japanese phonetic
alphabets, mainly used for borrowed words.
Kawaii: cute
Konnichiwa: good day, hello
Kowai: scared, afraid / scary
Kudasai: Please (Ocha Kudasai = Tea
please)
Manga: Japanese comics (same situation
as with anime)
Minna: everyone
Nani: what?
Ne: added to the end of a sentence
to say "isn't it?" or "am I right?"
Ohayo: Good morning (Ohayo gozaimasu
is a more polite way of saying it)
Onegai: Please, when making a request
Otaku: The literal meaning of the word
is a polite form of "you", but colloquially the word
took on the meaning of a (very) obsessed fan in Japanese. In other
languages however it has become a popular way of calling yourself
an anime fan.
Otou-san: father
Owari: the end/finale
Piku: to shake, or to tremble, also
the common anime face fault
Romaji: The English alphabet, when
used to transliterate (romanize) the original Japanese words. (all
of the Japanese terms on this page are written in Romaji)
Senpai: elder / upperclassman (can
be used as a honorific: i.e. Kunou-senpai)
Senshi: warrior or soldier
Seiyuu: A voice actor/actress
Sayonara: good bye
Sugoi: cool, amazing
Sumimasen: Excuse me / I'm sorry (differs
from the American "Excuse me" as it is used when interrupting
a conversation, rather than when bumping into somebody)
Tomodachi: friend
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