Gairaigo facts for kids
Gairaigo (pronounced guy-rye-go) are words in the Japanese language that have been borrowed from other languages. The word gairaigo itself means "loan word."
Most of these borrowed words come from European languages, especially English, especially after World War II. But Japanese also borrows words from Modern Chinese and Modern Korean.
Today, most gairaigo words are written using a special Japanese alphabet called katakana. Some older gairaigo words might be written using ateji. Ateji are Kanji characters used just for their sound, not their meaning. A few are even written in hiragana. For example, the word for America is Amerika in Japanese. It's almost always written in katakana as アメリカ.
Gairaigo is one of three main types of words in Japanese. The other two are kango, which are words borrowed from Chinese, and yamato kotoba, which are words native to Japan.
How Japanese Borrows Words
Japanese has always borrowed words from other languages. When the Chinese writing system came to Japan, the Japanese naturally borrowed many Chinese words.
For a long time, Japanese only borrowed words from other Asian languages. But in the 16th century, the Portuguese and Dutch arrived in Japan. They traded many goods with the Japanese. Because of this, Japanese started to include words from Portuguese and Dutch.
Here are some examples:
- Karuta (かるた or カルタ) comes from the Portuguese word carta, meaning "letter."
- Tempura (てんぷら or テンプラ) comes from the Portuguese word tempora. This word was used because Catholics would not eat red meat during Lent.
- Tabako (たばこ or タバコ) comes from the Portuguese word tabaco, meaning "tobacco."
These words used to be written mostly in ateji. But now, they are usually written in hiragana or katakana.
During the Meiji Period, Japan opened up to trade with other countries. Japan sent many scholars to Western countries to study things like medicine in Germany or art in France. This led to more borrowed words.
Since the late 1800s, and especially after WWII, most gairaigo words have come from English. Today, about 90% of all gairaigo words are from English.
Japanese-Made English Words
While many gairaigo words come from English, Japanese has also created new words that sound like English but wouldn't be understood by native English speakers. These are called wasei eigo, which means "Japanese-made English words."
Many wasei eigo words are shortened versions of English phrases. For example:
- Amefuto (アメフト) is short for "American football."
- Pasokon (パソコン) is short for "personal computer."
- Konbini (コンビニ) is short for "convenience store."
- Anime (アニメ) is short for "animation."
The full gairaigo versions of these words (like amerikanfutobōru for American football) would be too long for everyday conversation in Japanese.
Sometimes, English words get a new meaning when they become wasei eigo. For example:
- "Consent" becomes konsento (コンセント) in Japanese. It means "electrical outlet" instead of its original meaning.
- "Range" becomes renji (レンジ) in Japanese. It means "stove" instead of its original meaning.
See also
In Spanish: Gairaigo para niños
